Duck Boat passengers jump into the Thames after amphibious craft sets on fire and starts sinking near the Houses of Parliament

Flames ripped through boat on area of the River Thames close to Lambeth Bridge shortly before midday
Passengers hauled to safety by crews on passing tour barges - and described as 'cold, wet and in shock'
Seven patients being treated for smoke inhalation and three people taken to hospital with minor injuries

These dramatic photographs show how 30 tourists were today forced to jump off a burning Duck Boat into the River Thames as it sank.

Flames ripped through the tour vessel on a stretch of water close to Lambeth Bridge and the Houses of Parliament in Central London around midday.

The passengers - described by a London Fire Brigade spokesman as 'cold, wet and in shock' - were hauled to safety by crews on passing tour barges.























'IT WAS SCARY': DUCK TOURS TOURISTS CLAIMS THEY SAW SMOKE COMING FROM SAME BOAT JUST FIVE WEEKS AGO

Tourists who have gone on London Duck Tours trips claimed today that this is not the first time that smoke has been seen coming from the vessel.

Tim O’Mullane, 53, told MailOnline he was on the same Duck Boat - the ‘Cleopatra’ - on August 24 for his partner’s birthday, when they noticed smoke.

He said: ‘We’d gone onto the water, my partner noticed the fire and they went back onto land. They kept us on it and they took a long time to get us off. Then they put out the fire. I made a formal complaint days after and haven’t heard back. It was quite scary when you’re in the water.'

A TripAdvisor review of London Duck Tours from ‘Hollie840’ the next day gave a similar account, saying: ‘We had lots of fun on the duck tour.

'However once we entered the water, with a somewhat disgruntled skipper, the vessel set on fire. We were taken back to shore and promptly sent another vehicle. This was slightly scary, even more so as two of our party were pregnant.'
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good news everyone is survive