Ship fire in Lyttelton harbor, no injuries reported

People are believed to have jumped into the water for safety after a ship caught fire in Lyttelton Harbor.

The fire broke out around 12:45 p.m. Saturday, near Quail Island, and black smoke could be seen from across the harbor.

Do you know more? Email [email protected]

Fire crews and the Royal New Zealand Coast Guard attended, but no one is believed to have been injured.

A distress call was made but the ship’s distress beacon did not activate.

The events were witnessed by Church Bay resident Graeme McColl, who said the ship appeared to be “a fairly large runabout, with a cabin.”

“We looked outside and saw this plume of smoke and immediately took the binoculars,” he said.

“It was smoking and on fire. There was black smoke for a long time, so there must have been a lot of fuel on board.

“A few jet skis and small boats were circling to keep an eye on him, but not too close because it was quite dangerous at that stage.”