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Lechlade boat 'explodes' as nine people rushed to hospital including babyAlarming photos from the scene show firefighters battling a blaze on a boat on the bank of the Thames in the small
town of Lechlade - it's believed to have exploded, putting nine people in hospitalFirefighters at the scene in Lechlade (Image: Submitted/Wiltshire999s)ByElizabeta Ranxburgaj15:44, 1 Jun
2025Updated17:21, 1 Jun 2025|comments
Nine people, including a baby, have been rushed to hospital after a boat is believed to have exploded on the banks of the River Thames.
Firefighters were pictured putting out a blaze in the small town of Lechlade, on the edge of Wiltshire, just after midday on Saturday. The fire is believed to have been started by an
explosion, but the exact circumstances of the terrifying blaze are not yet known.
Among the nine people that were taken to hospital, a child, thought to be an infant, was airlifted to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for urgent medical care, according to Wiltshire999s.
Another one of the injured people airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where they received treatment.
The aftermath of Saturday's boat fire (Image:Daniel Jae Webb /SWNS)
The other seven injured people were taken to nearby hospitals by land ambulances.
A huge emergency response was triggered as two air ambulances and six ambulances were among the huge call out. Several fire engines rushed to the scene to help put out the terrifying
blaze.
A boat 'exploded' on the River Thames (Image:Submitted/Wiltshire999s)Police from several units, including Gloucestershire Constabulary, Thames Valley Police, Wiltshire Police and the MOD Police, were also at the scene of the "explosion".
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said that a section of the river was closed after the incident to allow for enquiries into the cause of the shocking fire to take place.
A firefighterpictured putting out the fire yesterday (Image:Submitted/Wiltshire999s)
The conditions of the nine people hospitalised after the apparent explosion are currently not known. The terrifying boat fire happened on the Wiltshire side on that stretch of the River
Thames, bordering Gloucestershire.
Shocking images from the scene showed smoke billowing from a house boat on the banks of the river in the middle of the day. Onlookers passing through the green stretch of grassland by the
river were seen looking on in horror at the fire.
The vessel was brought down to a burnt pile after the fire (Image:Daniel Jae Webb / SWNS)Two people are believed to have reportedly been discharged from hospital after the shocking incident.
Shocking images from Sunday showed the devastating aftermath of the fire. The once residential boat had been charred and brought to pieces after the huge blaze.
Six ambulances rushed tothe scene in Lechlade (Image:Submitted/Wiltshire999s)
The vessel now looked like a pile of burnt scrap on the banks of the River Thames.
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