Kate Winslet and members of Richard Branson‘s family escaped unharmed Monday when a lightning storm hit the Virgin tycoon’s Caribbean island home, which was destroyed in a blaze.
Winslet carried Branson’s 90-year-old mother Eve out of The Great House on Necker Island as the flames took hold in the early hours of the morning.
“She (Winslet) was staying there with her children and in fact it was she who carried my mother out of the house,” Branson told Britain’s ITV News.
Winslet said “it’s like being in a film set where you’re waiting for the words ‘cut’ but they just don’t come,” the entrepreneur added.
The 60-year-old founder of the Virgin empire had been staying in another property nearby with his wife Joan and son Sam, when the lightning struck the main house.
“My son Sam rushed to the house and helped get everyone out. Kate Winslet, her BF and her family were there and Holly and some of her friends were also staying.
“The main house is completely destroyed. My office was based in the house and I have lost thousands of photographs which is very sad.
“We’ll all stay here for the time being. There’s a lot of damage and we won’t be able to stick it back together again right away. It was a beautiful house.”
Each bedroom in the house has its own balcony, king-size bed and en-suite bathroom.
“Set on the top of Devil’s Hill, this beautiful house is the heart of the island,” Necker’s website says.
The island can be hired privately for $54,500 (38,000 euros) a night.
Source: AFP
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