Photos, video show large yacht on fire in harbor of UK port

• A yacht worth some $7.6 million was engulfed in flames on Saturday in Torquay, England.
• Dramatic photos show the yacht, which appears to be a Princess Y85, on fire.
• A witness told Insider that small explosions could be heard from the yacht as the fire raged on.

A yacht worth some $7.6 million was engulfed in flames on Saturday while moored in a UK port.

The ship prompted a large emergency response in the town of Torquay on England's southern coast.

Dramatic photos posted to social media showed the 85ft ship ablaze.

—Grace (@Grace31307003) May 28, 2022

The ship appears to be a Princess Y85, an eight-person ship with two engines and luxury fittings. This marketing video shows the details:

The British yacht broker TWW says a new Y85 ought to cost around $7.6 million.

A witness, Grace Kedzior-MacDonough, told Insider that the yacht caught fire around midday.

"We saw black smoke so everyone started to crowd around," she said.

By the time police and firefighters arrived to confront the blaze, the boat had burned through its moorings and was floating in the harbor, Kedzior-MacDonough said.

By then, she said, "the fire had got very out of hand."

A press officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said the force was first called at 11.57 a.m.

She could not say when the first responders arrived, but an online statement detailing a response of several crews was issued at 1.05 p.m.

Kedzior-MacDonough said that several small explosions could be heard from the yacht as the fire continued. Fire officials said the yacht contained some 8,000 liters of diesel when it caught fire.

Local police cordoned off the area, closed nearby roads, and asked people to close their windows to avoid inhaling the smoke, per an online incident report.

Later images showed that the ship had stopped burning so intensely.

—Grace (@Grace31307003) May 28, 2022