Three lifeboats from Kent and a French tug were deployed in the English Channel on Friday evening after a fire started on an Irish Ferries boat with nearly 200 people on board.

The British coastguard said it was alerted to a blaze in the engine room of the Isle of Innisfree just after 5.30pm.

Irish Ferries, the boat’s operator, said there were 94 passengers and 89 crew members on board, who are all “safe and accounted for”.

The boat was midway through its journey from Dover to Calais when the fire began, and it has since been extinguished.

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A HM Coastguard spokesperson said: “All passengers and crew are accounted for and no injuries have been reported.

“RNLI Lifeboats from Dungeness, Dover and Ramsgate were sent along with a French tug to stand by the vessel.

“The three RNLI lifeboats have been stood down and the French Coast Guard is now coordinating the incident.”

Irish Ferries said the lifeboats were dispatched as a “precautionary measure” and the Isle of Innisfree is now “safely at anchor”.

“As the situation is stable, no emergency assistance is expected to be required,” a spokesperson said.

The operator later added that once the boat arrives in Calais, it will launch a “full investigation into the incident in conjunction with the relevant authorities”.

“In the meantime, the Isle of Innisfree’s imminent sailings have been cancelled, and affected customers are being contacted with alternative travel arrangements,” it said.

“Irish Ferries would like to sincerely apologise to all passengers affected by this evening’s incident, and the disruption to their onward journeys.” — PA