A MAN suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of his body in a boat fire that killed another man.

The 30-year-old man, from Swindon, was aboard a 27ft cabin cruiser, which was moored at Pulteney Bridge, in the centre of Bath, when a fire started in the wheelhouse part of the boat.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 6.30am on Sunday and paramedics found the injured man in the water before rushing him to the Royal United Hospital in Bath to be stabilised until he could be moved to the specialist burns unit at Bristol’s Frenchay Hospital.

His injuries are thought to be extensive with the burns covering 60 per cent of his body, a spokesman for Great Western Ambulance Service said.

He said: “The fire was still going when our paramedics got there and there were reports the patient was in the water. We sent a lot of resources, including the specialist Hazardous Area Response Team, as it was a fire on water.

“His injuries are severe with burns all over his body which were assessed to be covering 60 per cent of him. He was taken to the RUH to be stabilised before being transferred to Frenchay.”

A 40-year-old man, also believed to be from Swindon, was pronounced dead on arrival and an inquest into his death had yet to be opened last night. Police have not released his name.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said the incident was not being treated as suspicious and a file had been passed to the coroner.

He said: “We were called at 6.30am to reports of a fire on a boat on the River Avon. One man died at the scene and another was taken to hospital.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious and we will be carrying out enquiries on behalf of the coroner.”

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said the cause of the fire was still being investigated.

He said: “We had five appliances with 15 firefighters on scene after the call at 6.21am to report a boat on fire.

“The boat did not sink and was still floating so crews fought it from the bank before going on board to bring it under control.

“As far as we can say the cause of the fire is still being investigated. A small fire can be devastating for a boat, partly because of the materials involved such as fuel.”