Lechlade boat 'explodes' as nine people rushed to hospital including baby

Nine people, including a baby, have been rushed to hospital after a boat is believed to have exploded on the banks of the River Thames.

Firefighters were pictured putting out a blaze in the small town of Lechlade, on the edge of Wiltshire, just after midday on Saturday. The fire is believed to have been started by an explosion, but the exact circumstances of the terrifying blaze are not yet known.

Among the nine people that were taken to hospital, a child, thought to be an infant, was airlifted to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for urgent medical care, according to . Another one of the injured people airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where they received treatment.

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The other seven injured people were taken to nearby by land ambulances.

A huge emergency response was triggered as two air ambulances and six ambulances were among the huge call out. Several fire engines rushed to the scene to help put out the terrifying blaze.

Police from several units, including Gloucestershire Constabulary, , and the MOD Police, were also at the scene of the "explosion".

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said that a section of the river was closed after the incident to allow for enquiries into the cause of the shocking fire to take place.

The conditions of the nine people hospitalised after the apparent explosion are currently not known. The terrifying boat fire happened on the Wiltshire side on that stretch of the River Thames, bordering Gloucestershire.

Shocking images from the scene showed smoke billowing from a house boat on the banks of the river in the middle of the day. Onlookers passing through the green stretch of grassland by the river were seen looking on in horror at the fire.

Two people are believed to have reportedly been discharged from hospital after the shocking incident.