Kaplinsky’s girl, eight, in burns horror
NEWSrEADEr Natasha Kaplinsky’s eight- year- old daughter suffered severe burns when the family’s boat exploded on a Greek holiday.
The ITV presenter, 45, was also injured in the blast on Corfu – where she owns a £1.5million villa – caused by a petrol engine leak. She and her daughter Angelica were with a man thought to be the girl’s grandfather. They were rescued by fishermen who towed the boat to shore.
It is understood Angelica – who bore the brunt of the blast – was initially treated for burns to her hands and face at a hospital in Corfu Town, before the family’s insurance company arranged a private jet to fly the child back to the uK for further care.
Angelica is understood to remain in hospital, although her condition is not life-threatening. The Corfu Port Authority was told by the motor boat’s captain and co-owner that those on board were able to extinguish the fire.
The explosion happened as the boat, called Plumbago Go, was sailing to the north of Vidos, a tiny island off the Corfu coast, which was home to a prison and detention centre until 1976.
Miss Kaplinsky, husband Justin Bower, 45, the founding partner of a private equity consultancy, their son Arlo, Angelica and two other relatives were ferried back to Corfu port by fishermen.
Plumbago, which carries the same name as the family’s five-bedroom Corfu holiday villa, was towed to the fishing village of Kouloura and transferred to the Port Authority. Local sources said it had been prohibited from sailing until the damage, which cost £350 to fix, had been repaired and the boat was issued with a certificate of seaworthiness.
The port source told The Sun on Sunday: ‘They had obviously not been taking care of the boat as a service should have prevented the problems.’
A spokesman for the star said she and Angelica were ‘making a good recovery’.