Footage posted on social media showed the vessel, which appeared to have smoke billowing out from its rear, careering into the wall before scraping along the side of the pier.

The emergency services were quickly dispatched to the scene of the crash, and all the passengers were evacuated by “two other river craft”, a spokesman for the London Fire Brigade told the Daily Telegraph.

The spokesman added that the blaze had been extinguished before the arrival of the fire brigade, but river police remained for at least an hour after the crash, which happened shortly before 4pm.