See video of the fire, which witnesses said caused flames 70ft high
A 34-metre Sunseeker superyacht was gutted by fire at the Sunseeker yard in Poole on Friday night.
The Sunseeker 34M Yacht, worth around £7m, burned to the gunwhales, and was described as a “total loss” by the company.
More than 50 fire fighters responded to the blaze, which started around 10pm. It was eventually brought under control in the early hours of Saturday, after witnesses reported seeing flames 70ft high.
The cause of the fire is not known at present, but early speculation has pinned the blame on a lightning strike.
Eyewitness Peter James told The Telegraph: “I’ve never seen anything like it. It started off as just a few flames but in minutes the whole boat was alight.”
“At one point the flames were about 20-metres high.”
Sunseeker said that the fire caused minor damage to some equipment in the surrounding area, but that no other boats were damaged. The company added that production was continuing as normal at their New Quay Road site.
Stewart McIntrye, chief operating officer of Sunseeker, told the Dorset Echo: “The insurers have already been notified, we did that during the night. A surveyor has been appointed. We will go through our standard proceedures.”
Do you have any photos of the fire? Email mbynews@ipcmedia.com
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