Kaplinsky’s agony over daughter in boat inferno
NEWSREADER Natasha Kaplinsky’s eight-year-old daughter is being treated in hospital for severe burns following an explosion on the family’s boat in Corfu.
MsKapl in sky, who owns a £1.5 million holiday home on the island, was also injured but her daughter Angelica is believed to have born the brunt of the blast.
The youngster, Ms Kaplinsky and another relative – believed to be the child’s grandfather her – were reported lyres cuedd by local fishermen who doused sed the flames before towing them m to shore.
The accident happened a week last Friday when the family passed close to the tiny island ofVi do which is just off the port of Corfu Town.
Once the fire was safely out, the boat was towed to the fishing village of Kouloura and transferred to the e Corfu Port Authority.
Angelica was initially treated ed for burns to her hands and face ace at Corfu General Hospital before she was flown to be treated in Britain on a private jet arranged through the family’s travel insurance firm.
She remains in hospital although her condition is not thought to be life threatening.
The star and the child’ s grandfather are believed to have received treatment for minor injuries in Corfu.
Ms Kaplinsky, 45, became the highest-paid newsreader on British television in 2007 when Channel 5 poached her from the BBC in a deal worth £1 million a year.
She was on board the motor launch, called Plumbago Go, with her investment banker husband Justin Bower and two other relatives when a petrol leak caused the blast.
An unnamed source told The Sun: ‘The explosion caused about £350 worth of damage.
‘A petrol leak caused the engine t o break down and t ri ggered the blast.’
A spokesman for Corfu Port Authority said: ‘Three people were injured after a fire on a boat.
‘The vessel suffered a mechanical failure which caused a fire in t he engine r oom, which was immediately extinguished by the people on the boat.’
Sources last night said the damage to the vessel was limited, despite the ferocity of the fire.
The family’s five-bedroom, twostorey holiday home – also called Plumbago – is one of just a handful of luxurious houses in a centuriesold stone mountainside village which boasts spectacular views of the Corfu Channel and the Albanian coast.
Ms Kaplinsky, who won t he first series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004 and has been a news anchor for a string of national broadcasters including ITV and Sky, is a frequent visitor to the Greek island.
The family were reported to be making a good recovery but a spokesman declined to comment further when contacted by The Mail on Sunday.