Sailing boat goes up in flames in Latchi

A sailing boat anchored in Latchi harbour was completely destroyed on Monday, while another vessel was damaged following a fire that broke out rapidly during maintenance work.

According to local media, the fire broke out on a private sailing boat while technicians and the local owner were on board carrying out maintenance work. When they noticed smoke coming out near propeller, they reportedly disconnected the batteries but the fire had already broken out and began to spread.

The people on board began attempts to put out the fire, but they had to jump off quickly as the fire was spreading rapidly. Fire fighters and the coast guard were also called to the scene. Efforts to contain the fire were not immediately successful, due to the nature of the incident, while fishermen were heard in a video offering suggestions on how best to extinguish the fire.

The private sailing boat was completely destroyed according to Cyprus News Agency (CNA). The owner reportedly had his vessel insured for the amount of €70,000, while insurance information was not clear for the second boat that was damaged in the fire. 

Officials are investigating the incident while preliminary findings suggested the fire was caused by a short circuit.

Both owners were described as Greek Cypriots.

No injuries were reported.