A fire has damaged the famous 19th-century tea clipper Cutty Sarkin London.
An aerial view today shows damage to the 'Cutty Sark'. Photograph: Reuters
"There is substantial damage," a London Fire Brigade spokesman said, adding eight fire engines and 40 firefighters were involved in fighting the fire on the vessel, moored as a tourist attraction in the south east of the city.
The ship, launched in 1869 on Scotland's river Clyde to make the run to China for the tea trade, was undergoing a £25 million (€ 36.6 million) refurbishment.
Richard Doughty, chief executive of the Cutty SarkTrust, the body overseeing the work, said the fire may have been started deliberately. "It is just unbelievable. We are losing history."
He said half of the ship's timbers had been removed for renovation before the fire.
A file image of the 'Cutty Sark'
Built in 1869 by Scott & Linton, Dumbarton, the Cutty Sarkwas one of the world's only surviving fast tea clippers.
The London landmark swapped the high seas for a concrete dry dock in Greenwich on the banks of the River Thames 50 years ago.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of the Duke of Edinburgh, who formed the Cutty Sark Society in 1951 to ensure the preservation of the ship, saying the fire was a "sad setback to an important example of our national maritime heritage".
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said she was "horrified" to learn of the fire and hoped that the Cutty Sark could be restored.
Ms Jowell, who will visit the scene later this afternoon, said: "The Cutty Sark is an icon of our heritage, and a world-famous landmark known by millions."