Frightened children jumped into the River Thames after a boat caught fire in Abingdon Marina, Oxfordshire, on Sunday evening.
Five children and two adults were were pulled out of the river by passers by or swam ashore after the blaze began at around 6pm.
Mick Stockford, who lives by the marina, said that he heard children screaming.
He said that the boat’s occupants were pulled to safety, but commented: “It could’ve gone the other way if it hadn’t been for the people around,” in an interview with BBC Oxford.
A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said two fire crews attended the scene and put out the blaze by 7pm, and that nobody was injured.
It’s believed that an engine fault caused the fire.
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