A man is fighting for his life after an explosion on a merchant ship.

Emergency services were sent to Sheerness Docks last night following the blast which injured a crew member.

He was airlifted to King’s College Hospital in London where he remains in a critical condition.

The 5,000-tonne vessel called Cemisle had moored at the Isle of Sheppey after making a trip from the Netherlands.

Fire crews, paramedics and Sheppey Coastguard were all at the scene from around 7.30pm.

Ten engines and a height vehicle attended and crews wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the flames in the engine ship room.

Firefighters carried out checks on the 120-metre-long cement carrier’s ship compartments for further fire or explosion risk and set up a water pump.

They left at 2.40am today.

The police were also called just before 7pm.

Officers are working alongside the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Meanwhile, Sheerness RNLI volunteers on the all-weather lifeboat Judith Copping Joyce were also sent to the docks.

It launched at 9.20pm after being tasked to provide safety cover.

The crew was stood down at 11.20pm.