Uber boat passengers evacuated near Battersea Power Station pier as fire breaks out on Clipper

Passengers and crew were evacuated from an Uber Clipper boat near Battersea Power Station pier on Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the engine's vessel room.

Twenty-seven passengers and three crew members disembarked the boat shortly after 10am, before emergency crews arrived at the scene.

There were no reported injuries and firefighters had extinguished the blaze by around 11:30am.

A London Fire Brigade statement said: "Firefighters dealt with a small fire in the engine room of a Clipper at Battersea Power Station Pier.

"Around 31 members of the public and four crew disembarked the Clipper before the Brigade arrived. There were no injuries."

The fire-damaged boat remained stationed on the water on Tuesday afternoon, with services not stopping at the pier until further notice.

Uber Boat said the cause of the fire on board the Moon Clipper is still unknown.

"The fire was detected as the boat was travelling eastbound towards Battersea Power Station Pier," a spokesperson said.

"It was the RB6 eastbound service from Putney to Tower Pier.

"The Captain of the boat alerted Port of London Authority and contacted London Fire Brigade for assistance and the crew immediately implemented emergency procedures."

Uber launched its boat service in London in the summer of 2020.

Boats operate through a partnership with existing river bus company Thames Clippers and are bookable via Uber's app.

Earlier this year Uber announced it plans to operate two vessels that will run solely on battery power.

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