Twenty-two boats were burnt in the blaze that broke out early Wednesday morning in the marina of the Istrian town of Medulin. The fire was brought under control shortly before 7 a.m. and no one was injured, the Pula Public Fire Brigade (JVP) and the Istrian police reported.

“The most important thing is that there are no reports of casualties so far. The fire is under control, the situation is normalising and as soon as safety conditions allow, police officers and fire safety inspectors will continue the investigation,” Suzana Sokac, spokeswoman for the Istrian Police Directorate, told Croatian news agency Hina.

Police received a report of the fire in the Medulin marina at 3:55 a.m., Sokac said.

“When we arrived at the scene, the unaffected ships were divided into sectors and separated from the affected ships. During the fire, the burning ships were separated from the floating pontoon and the fire on them was extinguished,” reported the Pula fire brigade, whose members managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the other ships in the vicinity.

“As for the pollution of the sea, dams have been built as a preventive measure. It will be repaired, but there will be a carbon leak in the harbour. Everyone reacted in time, but a lot of damage has been done. These are yachts owned by domestic and foreign owners. 22 boats were completely burnt and five were damaged,” said Mladen Kikovic, the head of civil defence of the town of Pazin.

The cause of the fire and the property damage will be determined by an investigation.

According to unofficial figures, the damage caused by the fire amounts to several hundred thousand euros.