国际英语新闻:12 people, including 7 children, seriously injured in yacht fire in Riga

RIGA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Twelve people, including seven children, have suffered serious injuries in a fire that broke out on a yacht in the Latvian capital Riga on Sunday afternoon, rescue services said.

The State Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to the dangerous fire on a yacht some 200 meters from a marina in Daugavgriva shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time, LETA news agency reported citing the rescue service.

Inta Saboha, a spokeswoman for the State Fire and Rescue Service, told public radio that the blaze broke out after the yacht's mast brushed against a high voltage cable. The flames spread to a 20 square meters large area.

Nine ambulance vehicles were dispatched to the scene to provide assistance to the people injured in the fire. The injured people have been taken to hospitals and their injuries, mostly burns, are serious, the report said.

Firemen are still working at the scene to put out the fire on the yacht.