Brits desperately jump into sea to escape huge fire on boat in Greek holiday hotspot

Dozens of tourists - including young children - were forced to dive into the sea after a boat went up in flames in Greece.

British holidaymakers were among those on board the vessel engulfed by fire off the island of Rhodes yesterday afternoon.

The incident occurred around 300 metres from Stenga beach in the town of Archangelos - with the captain handing out lifejackets and ordering passengers to jump.

The coast guard confirmed all 82 passengers were taken back to the land - with some rescued directly from the wooden vessel.

Witnesses have described how children involved were left "traumatised".

The boat was completely destroyed before disappearing into the sea.

Shaun Williams, from St Ives, Cornwall, and his family were among those on board.

The aircraft engineer, 55, said they had stopped near the beach to snorkel when the crew "started shouting".

The wooden ship was quickly engulfed in flames hundreds of metres off shore (SHAUN WILLIAMS)

He said they were on the top deck and couldn't understand what was being said before seeing smoke.

Shaun told the MailOnline: "The crew tried to fight the fire but the boat was made of wood and the fire grew quickly. They started handing out life jackets and a minute later the captain said we all need to get in the sea."

He described how families began to panic and with the stairs blocked off they had to climb over the railings and drop to the lower deck.

Shaun said he ordered his family to jump into the water and "shouted at others to do the same".

The captain ordered everyone to jump into the sea (SHAUN WILLIAMS)

Passengers were then picked up from the water by rescue boats (SHAUN WILLIAMS)

A couple of minutes later, the whole boat was engulfed, he added.

A video from the scene shows the fire having ripped through the vessel as a plume of smoke rises into the sky.

Passengers can be seen in a rescue boat.

Shaun said boats in the area all came to the scene to help ferry those in the water to the shore.

They were all taken to a restaurant to ensure everyone was accounted for before being taken to their accommodation by bus.

Greece's Central Port Authority said it would take measures to deal with the marine pollution resulting from the boat sinking.

Shaun said at midnight he was called by the Port Police to give a statement.

The British Consulate also spoke to him.

He added: "We had no injuries but my 9-year-old son was traumatised for some time."