London Duck tours suspended

AFTER one of its amphibious vessels caught fire on the Thames, (Two boat fires) London Duck Tours has had its craft suspended from operation on water.

The fire caused many of the passengers on the craft to jump into the river, that fortunately was at low tide, enabling them to stand up and be easily rescued Alan Tilbury tells us.

Second to catch fire

This is the second of its vessels to catch fire, as another of its amphibious vessels, Mistress Quickly, caught fire in 2008, also on the Thames.

The company cannot take the vessels onto the river whilst suspended, but we are told that they will operate them purely as land tours, that however loses their attraction as a dual purpose vehicle.

The company operates a fleet of nine of the amphibious craft, that were restored over the past 14 years.

Investigating

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are now investigating the incident to determine the cause of the fire, and will eventually publish its findings. It has taken action to ensure the company's other craft do not operate on the river whilst the investigation is taking place.

Both the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and London Fire Brigade have also started their own investigations into the incident.