Mysterious Red Flares Cause Chaos in East London
A shower of red magnesium flares descended on the River Thames in east London, igniting fires and causing damage to homes and boats. The incident occurred around 10:30 PM on Sunday, leaving residents in Wapping terrified as the flares lit up the night sky.
Fires and Damage
According to Hermitage Moorings, three houseboat fires were sparked by the flares. Local residents reported two holes in the roof of an apartment building at Capital Wharf. Apoorv Srivastava, who was home with his 11-month-old daughter, described the scene as 'like fireballs from the sky.' He said the flares burned holes in his apartment block's roof and set a palm tree on fire in a nearby garden.
'Some flares fell into the garden where we tried to put them out, but they wouldn't go out with water. They just kept burning and burning,' Srivastava said. 'Everyone was scared because nobody knew what was going on.'
Magnesium Flares
The red flares were attached to paper parachutes to slow their descent. Magnesium flares burn at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius and are often used in combat zones. The fires on the houseboats were extinguished by a neighbor, Thomas Zatorski, before the London Fire Brigade arrived.
A spokesperson for Hermitage Moorings praised Zatorski as a 'local hero' and noted that the situation could have been much worse if the flares had landed on petrol tanks.
Other Damage
The John Orwell football pitch also suffered damage, with holes burned into the astroturf. White residue and red caps from the flares littered the high street and surrounding areas.
Source of Flares Unknown
The origin of the flares remains a mystery. Local residents reported hearing chants of 'Ole, Ole' from across the river in Bermondsey, suggesting the flares may have been launched from there. Some speculate that football fans set off the flares to celebrate MC Alger's victory in the Algerian league, as similar displays occurred in Algiers on the same day.
The Metropolitan Police received calls about the flares but did not attend the scene on Sunday night. The London Fire Brigade arrived after the fires had already been extinguished. Neither authority has information on who set off the flares or why.
A similar incident occurred in 2024 near Albert Bridge, where red and yellow fireworks were speculated to have been set off by Spanish football fans celebrating a Euros win.
