Big news story...

The 1869 tea clipper Cutty Sark went up in flames this morning.

The ship was under going major restoration, although the fire has been put out it is feared that the damage is extensive, being mainly on the 'tween deck.

More news when it comes out.

A sad day
Luciano

Latest news is that this wonderful ship has been completely burnt out. It is thought that some gas cylinders may have been responsible http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6648609,00.html .

This is such a tragedy. I feel so sorry for all those who have been associated with keeping the Cutty Sark so magnificently preserved since the 1930s, and for all who love this ship.

I hope that something may be salvaged and that future generations will again see Cutty Sark in full splendour.

Not something i wanted to see over my breakfast cereal this morning

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6675381.stm

Quite a lot of the hull planking had already been removed, but that still leaves the wrought iron frame vulnerable.

David

What is going on here..So many buildings/structures damaged undergoing restoration? CUTTY SARK,Windsor castle. half a dozen classic buildings in Russia.Theatres in France.Does nobody supervise these welding guys.........

Very, very, sad indeed...

From the NY Times:
"LONDON (Reuters) - The Cutty Sark, a famous London landmark and thought to be the world's last surviving 19th century tea clipper, was severely damaged in a blaze on Monday, the British fire service said.

Flames and thick black smoke shot high into the sky above the dry dock on the banks of the River Thames where the boat has stood for more than 50 years.

Forty firefighters brought the blaze under control. Aerial television pictures showed a mass of charred timbers on the deck of the boat that was once one of the world's fastest ships.

``There is substantial damage,'' a London Fire Brigade spokesman said. There were no reports of any injuries.

Eyewitness Bruno Mahsoudi described seeing ``massive flames'' coming from the ship.

The Cutty Sark swapped the high seas for a concrete dry dock in Greenwich, home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), where it became a major tourist attraction.

The ship, launched in 1869 on Scotland's River Clyde to make the run to China for the lucrative tea trade, was undergoing a 25 million pounds ($49.31 million) refurbishment.

Richard Doughty, chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, the body overseeing the renovation work said the fire may have been started deliberately.

``All I know is that it is being treated as a suspicious fire at the moment,'' he told BBC television. ``It is just unbelievable. We are losing history.''

He said half of the ship's timbers had been removed for renovation before the fire.

Originally designed to last just 30 years, the ship is a rare construction with a wrought iron frame clad in timber.

Although built for the tea trade, it was switched to fetching wool from Australia to feed England's mills, regularly recording the fastest time for the voyage from Australia to Britain."

terrible news indeed. The damage is extensive, and the decking appears unsalvagable, but as most of the planking and all the historical artefacts had already been removed for the restoration, all may not be lost.

http://news.aol.co.uk/suspicious-fire-devastates-historic-cutty-sark/article/20070521051409990002

Henk

Hey all,

Read about it over on yahoo.com very sad news. Hopefully they will be able to save her.

The first post I read this morning and it has to be terrible news like this. I've actually seen the Cutty Sark, once, and it's sad to think I may not be able to again. What a tragic shame.

From later reports it looks like they've sort of determined that the iron fromework was OK and the damage not as bad as they feared. Cost a lot more to restore, but I guess it was great that a lot of stuff was previously removed for restoration purposes

Hi,

Very sad news.

But if the latest news are right, it can still be restored even costing more money and taking more time. I hope so.