Dramatic moment boat ‘explodes’ in a fireball before drifting into other vessels and setting them alight in busy marina

• The video of Hampstead Marina in Kent shows a huge fire and clouds of smoke
• A flaming boat drifted into others, spreading the blaze in a ‘domino effect’
• Two people have been taken to hospital for burns and smoke inhalation 
• Investigators have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire  

Video footage captured the moment a huge fire tore through boats in a busy marina as they ‘exploded several times’, leaving two people hospitalised. 

The footage, which appears to be taken from a bridge, shows two boats on fire in Hampstead Marina at Yalding in Kent with huge clouds of thick black billowing smoke. 

The blaze on Sunday afternoon saw two people taken to hospital – one for burns and one for smoke inhalation, according to the fire brigade.

Video footage shows two boats on fire at Hampstead Marina at Yalding in Kent with huge clouds of thick black billowing smoke

Witnesses can be seen watching the fire, making phone calls and discussing what is going on in frantic voices

Some boats remained afloat but were wrecks after the fire was extinguished

The flaming boat drifted into other vessels, also setting them alight in the middle of the busy marina. 

Onlookers shouted for help as banging noises – thought to be explosions – could be heard.

A witness said she feared a boat would crash into her house and the second part of the video shows the fire appearing to spread to a fence on the riverbank and threatening a property on the river’s shore. 

Some boats were left completely gutted and sank, while others remained half-torched in the River Medway. 

Investigators have not confirmed what caused the fire, which took two-and-a-half hours to extinguish, as three fire engines and a bulk water carrier attended and neighbours used buckets of water. 

The video changes angle to show a boat on fire by the river bank, as the fire appears to threaten a nearby property

A witness said: ‘It was like a domino effect. It was quite terrifying.’ Pictured, the aftermath of the blaze 

Some boats sunk below the surface after the fire gutted them 

The riverbank was scorched after the blaze on Sunday afternoon

A witness who lives nearby said she saw the boat on fire from her bedroom window and phoned 999 after seeing it float downstream. 

She saw clouds of smoke and people panicking. She said one boat exploded several times.

The witness said: ‘I told the fire brigade it was about to set fire to another boat, but it missed and ended up coming towards our house, which was horrifically scary.

‘My partner and I ran outside and hosed down our house and the surrounding area, to try to stop a bush fire from happening.’

‘It was like a domino effect. The first boat exploded several times. It was quite terrifying.’ 

She went on to describe the ‘phenomenal’ team spirit of the neighbours. including an off-duty firefighter, who worked together to attempt to extinguish the fire.  

One boat owner managed to save his boat just in time by moving it out of the way.

Neighbours tried to put out the fire with buckets of water as three fire engines and a bulk water carrier attended 

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