Police declare a major incident following the fire on the 85ft (26m) private vessel.
Image source, Joseph Barlow
A large fire has broken out on an 85ft (26m) superyacht moored in a harbour.
Members of the public in Torquay, Devon, have described hearing a bang from the area, before seeing a huge plume of black smoke.
Police have declared a major incident and officers in masks have evacuated a nearby beach and roads.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said part of the pier was also on fire and multiple response units were there, including eight pumps.
‘Just enormous’
Joseph Barlow said he heard and saw the fire in a “surreal” experience when he was walking to the beach.
He said: “I heard a bang like a gun shot, from the harbour, followed by big plume of black smoke.”
Mr Barlow said he then saw “a fire coming from the boat in the harbour” and that shortly after firefighters arrived and the area was cordoned off by police.
BBC Devon reporter Louise Mitchell said: “It looked like it was at the end of a pier – you could certainly see massive flames reaching up into the air and the plume of smoke was just enormous.”
She said coastguards had been evacuating people from the area around Torre Abbey Meadows.
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