Cutty Sark

Montse · May 21, 2007

Fire rips through the Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark on fire

The Cutty Sark is the world's oldest surviving tea clipper

A fire on board the famous 19th Century ship the Cutty Sark is now under control, the London Fire Brigade said.

An area around the 138-year-old tea clipper was evacuated amid fears that gas cylinders were on board but it has been confirmed that none were present.

Greenwich town centre in south-east London has been closed to traffic and the Docklands Light Railway shut.

The ship was currently undergoing a £25m renovation and was closed to visitors.

Eight fire engines were sent to tackle the fire which started shortly before 0500 BST.

Speaking to BBC News the Chief Executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, Richard Doughty, said the fire brigade told him they were treating the fire as suspicious.

He said he feared what would be lost in the blaze.

"When you lose original fabric, you lose the touch of the craftsman, you lose history itself," he said.

"And what is special about Cutty Sark is the timbers, the iron frames, that went to the South China Seas, and to think that that is threatened in any way is unbelievable, it's an unimaginable shock."

He said the ship would be "irreplaceable".

He added said the Cutty Sark was not just an important part of maritime heritage but an important part of British identity.

Mr Doughty described the ship as the epitomy of speed under sail.

An eyewitness, who saw the fire as she was driving across the Thames, said: "I can see all this smoke billowing out from round by where the Cutty Sark is.

"It was black, thick black smoke... as I've come over the bridge there's all police cars blocking the road and everyone's being diverted."

Residents living near the ship were evacuated from their homes and taken to a Greenwich hotel, Scotland Yard confirmed.

The conservation work was being carried out as sea salt had accelerated the corrosion of her iron framework.

How sad

Its being treated as suspicious as well

John am Rhein · May 21, 2007

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