Two boats caught fire in the space of a few hours yesterday, in two separate incidents that left a man seriously injured.

A large speedboat was reduced to a shell when it caught fire in the morning. It was close to the quay at Gillieru restaurant in St Paul’s Bay at the time.

According to an eyewitness from Sliema, there was a loud explosion followed by a ball of fire. A 29-year-old man from Mosta, who was on the speedboat at the time, suffered serious burns.

Firefighters swiftly arrived on the scene and put out the fire. The speedboat was then pulled up a slipway. Its twin outboard engines did not appear to have been damaged.

In the other boating accident, a yacht sank after it caught fire on Sunday night. The yacht was stationed just off the White Tower in Marfa.

The fire was reported at around 2 a.m. A Gozo-based patrol boat and one from the maritime base at Haywharf in Pietà both attempted to put out the fire. Although they succeeded, the yacht sank soon after daybreak. There was no one on board at the time.