Luxury 88ft yacht ‘owned by professional poker player nicknamed The Lion’ goes up in flames with five crew and 12 passengers on board off the coast of Mediterranean paradise island

This is the dramatic moment a 88-foot luxury yacht reportedly owned by a professional poker player nicknamed ‘The Lion’ burst into flames off the paradise Mediterranean island of Formentera.

Five crew and 12 passengers are said to have been on board the yacht but were able to abandon it in time despite the speed with which the Italian-designed cruiser was transformed into a floating inferno.

Only one of the crew members, described as a 39-year-old Spaniard who suffered minor burns, needed hospital treatment according to regional emergency response coordinators.

The alarm was sounded around 6pm yesterday while the yacht was anchored off Es Cavall d’en Borras beach in the Ses Salines Natural Park. 

Onlookers gathered nearby in their own boats to watch the blaze take hold as thick black smoke billowed into the sky above the stricken vessel which belongs to poker player Diego Gomez Gonzalez, also known as The Lion, The Olive Press reports. 

It’s not yet known if Gonzalez was on the yacht, named locally as Irmao, or if it was being chartered by guests. The 34-year-old, from Madrid, gained his nickname after dressing up in a full-body lion costume at the final table of the 2012 European Poker Tour in Prague. 

The alarm was sounded around 6pm yesterday while the yacht was anchored off Es Cavall d’en Borras beach in the Ses Salines Natural Park

Five crew and 12 passengers are said to have been on board the yacht but were able to abandon it in time despite the speed with which the raging inferno engulfed the Italian-designed cruiser

It’s not yet known if Gonzalez (pictured), 34, was on the yacht, named locally as Irmao, or if it was being chartered by guests

Local media reports that he was born in the Spanish capital in 1988 and learned poker by playing with his family and school friends. 

He then started to take it up online and later joined the Spanish poker circuit – where his total live earnings are reported to be around £388,000, according to online poker records.

The fine sand beach where his yacht was anchored off is one of the best in Formentera – a Balearic island neighboured by Ibiza – where Leonardo DiCaprio has been spotted partying in recent days. It is home to famous bar-restaurants El Tiburon and Beso Beach.

Shocking video shows the devastating damage caused by the roaring flames as the interior of the vessel looks to be completely gutted. 

The yacht, which is based in Ibiza and marketed online as being available for ‘out-of-this-world charter vacations.’

It sleeps 12 in a VIP cabin, one double cabin and four twin cabins and charters for nearly £40,000 a week in high season.

The luxury yacht, which was built in 1995, also features a deck jacuzzi, while guests have access to waterskis, paddleboards and snorkelling equipment. 

Spanish coastguards responded to the emergency by towing the yacht further out to sea and assisting in putting out the flames.

Last summer a £20million superyacht owned by wealthy Italian businessman Paolo Scudieri went up in flames off the coast of Ibiza.

Shocking footage shows the yacht transform into a raging inferno. It’s not known what caused the fire

Onlookers gathered nearby in their own boats to watch the blaze take hold as thick black smoke billowed into the sky above the stricken vessel

Spanish coastguards responded to the emergency by towing the yacht further out to sea and assisting in putting out the flames

The 150ft vessel Aria SF caught fire on August 11, just a month after being delivered to its multi-millionaire owner.

Spanish coastguards sent two rescue boats to the area as the nine passengers and seven crew on board abandoned ship after a Mayday call following a failed attempt to put out the blaze. There were no reports of any injuries.

The black smoke the fire caused could be seen as far away as Majorca.