Fire at boatyard fuels explosion of 1,000-gallon tank of diesel

A FIRE at one of the country’s best known boatyards caused the explosion of a 1,000-gallon tank of diesel.

The blaze broke out in the engine of a power-washing unit while workmen were cleaning the underside of a yacht held aloft by a boat hoist close to the quayside at Crosshaven Boat Yard. The fire spread to the nearby diesel tank which was at the rear of a 40ft metal shipping container containing a cylinder of acetylene – a colourless gas. The heat generated by the exploding diesel tank in turn caused the cylinder of acetylene to explode inside the container.