A former Soviet aircraft carrier that became a popular tourist attraction in China caught fire in a lagoon near Shanghai.

Footage shows The Minsk, once a jewel of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, engulfed in a huge blaze over the weekend, with thick smoke and large flames lighting up on the night sky.

Firefighters spent more than 24 hours trying to contain the fire, which Chinese state media said started during renovations for it to become the centrepiece of a new military theme park.

There were no casualties reported and the cause of the fire is still being investigated. Pictures later showed extensive damage to the warship’s superstructure, with charred metal protruding from its main deck.

The Minsk was the second of four Kiev-class aircraft carriers built by the Soviet Union between 1970 and 1987. It was decommissioned by the Russian Navy in 1993, and eventually sold to China as scrap.

The carrier had been the main attraction for 16 years at the now-defunct Minsk World theme park in Shenzhen, before being moved to its current site in a waterway close to Nantong in Jiangsu province.