Yacht burnt out at its mooring

Monday 9th February 2009, 2:29PM GMT.

A YACHT moored in the Albert Marina was destroyed by fire last night.

Two Fire and Rescue Service appliances tackled the blaze on the 33ft Eclipse. No one was injured and no major damage was caused to any other vessels.

Its cause is not yet known.

The watch commander said the service had received several calls and was on the scene at 6.38pm.

‘The yacht was well alight when we got there. The mast had collapsed and a gas cylinder inside had exploded,’ he said. ‘The boat is destroyed, but it could have been worse. It was lucky that at this time of the year quite a lot of boats are out of the marina and therefore there were none either side of the yacht that was on fire.’

The wind direction was also fortunate, he added. Owners of boats in the vicinity were called and advised to inspect them.