Fire crews battle blaze on Cutty Sark ship in London

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) Fire crews are battling a blaze on the Cutty Sark, the famous 19th-century tea clipper moored as a tourist attraction in east London, a fire service spokesman said today.

''There is substantial damage,'' a London Fire Brigade spokesman said. ''We've got eight fire engines and 40 firefighters there.'' Television pictures showed the ship well ablaze with flames leaping high into the air.

The ship, launched in 1869 on Scotland's river Clyde to make the run to China for the tea trade, is being refurbished.

REUTERS AGL VV1136