Two boats sank in Teddington Lock in the early hours of this morning after a major fire.
Volunteers from Teddington RNLI, Police and Firefighters were called to the blaze at around 1.40am - with a total of four boats being damaged.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) arrived at the scene and were attempting to douse the flames of the two boats, which were approximately ten metres in length, positioned in the downstream end of the larger of the two locks.
Photo credited to Met Police Richmond.
Samantha Armatage - a Teddington RNLI volunteer who drove the tractor that was used to launch both lifeboats, said: "The scene was quite dramatic as there were two very large fires in the locks directly opposite the lifeboat station.
"There was a loud explosion shortly after the second boat was launched into the Thames and obviously your concern is for the crew, but I knew they would have kept to a safe distance."
Around, four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Kingston and Surbiton were called at 1:32am and the fire was under control within two and a half hours.
Photo credited to Teddington RNLI.
14 volunteers arrived at Teddington Lock to find two boats had caught fire.
Emergency service reports stated the two boats that were located on the south side of the river were badly damaged and sank.
It was a very dangerous task for Teddington RNLI because volunteers had to keep a safe distance from the boats in order to protect their safety.
Photo credited to Met Police Richmond.
RNLI volunteer Jon Chapman said: "‘This is certainly one of the more unusual shouts I have experienced.
"We were able to play a very useful part by being out on the water and locating the third fire, thus ensuring it was dealt with before it became a major risk to the boat and others around it."
The Environment Agency have now closed both locks so that they can locate the sunken boats.
However, there were no evacuations and no reports of any injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Richmond Police have also launched an appeal to find out what caused the fires.
Anyone who may have witnessed anything, who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area during the early hours or may have dash cam or CCTV footage is being encouraged to contact the police.
You can contact Richmond police directly on social media @MPSRichmond via twitter or to call 101 and quote CAD 424/26FEB20
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