Kate Winslet and her children were among VIP guests forced to flee Sir Richard Branson’s luxury Caribbean home after a night-time blaze ripped through the building.
The multi-million-pound Great House on Necker, the Virgin tycoon’s ￡60million private island, was struck by lightning in the early hours of Monday when the region was battered by 90mph Hurricane Irene.
Flames quickly ravaged the wood and stone mansion forcing those inside, which included Miss Winslet and her two young children, to run for their lives in their pyjamas.
According to Sir Richard, courageous Miss Winslet acted like a true Hollywood heroine as she swept his 90-year-old mother Eve into her arms and helped carry her to safety as the mansion crumbled around them.
Sir Richard, 61, was staying in another villa around 100 yards away with his wife Joan and son Sam and apparently ran naked towards the flames shortly after 4am.
Sir Richard said: ‘Around 20 people were in the house and they all managed to get out and they are all fine.
‘We had a really bad tropical storm with winds up to 90mph. A big lightning storm came around 4am and hit the house. It took hold incredibly quickly, with flames 100ft high. It ripped through the house very quickly.
‘The main house is completely destroyed and the fire is not yet completely out. My office was based in the house and I have lost thousands of photographs and my notebooks, which is very sad. But all family and friends are well – which in the end is all that really matters.’
Of Miss Winslet’s role, Sir Richard told ITV News: ‘It was she who carried my mother out of the house. She said it was like being on a film set where you’re waiting for the words “cut” but they just don’t come. So it was quite surreal for her to be in a real-life situation.
‘She carried my Mum out of the house. My Mum is 90 and can walk but it was more just to speed the process up than anything else but anyway, she was great. She swept her up into her arms and got them out of the house as fast as possible.’
Miss Winslet, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2008 movie The Reader, has a daughter Mia, ten, from her first marriage to Jim Threapleton, and a son, Joe, seven, by second husband, director Sam Mendes, from whom she is separated. She is believed to be dating model Louis Dowler.
英国理查德•布兰森男爵位于加勒比海的一处豪宅近日夜间遭到雷击起火，包括奥斯卡影后凯特•温丝莱特及她的子女在内的多位贵宾成功逃出。
周一清晨，维珍集团大亨布兰森位于内克尔岛上的价值数百万英镑的豪宅被闪电击中，当时整个地区遭受到时速90英里的艾琳飓风的袭击。内克尔岛是布兰森的私人岛屿，价值六千万英镑。
大火迅速烧毁这座由木石构建的豪宅，人们还穿着睡衣裤就出逃保命，温丝莱特和她的两个孩子也在其中。
据理查德描述，勇敢的温丝莱特表现得酷似真人版好莱坞大片女英雄。大宅崩塌之时，她一把将理查德90岁高龄的母亲伊娃拽到怀里，帮她安全逃离。
61岁的理查德当时正和妻子琼、儿子萨姆住在100码远的另一套别墅里。4点钟刚过，他几乎裸奔到火灾现场。
理查德说：“房子里有20来个人，他们都成功逃出来了，一切平安。”
“我们遭遇了一场强烈的热带风暴，风速达到每小时90英里。4点左右出现雷雨，房子遭到雷击。火势迅速蔓延，火焰窜起100英尺高，很快烧遍整个房子。”
“主宅彻底毁掉了，到现在火还没完全扑灭。伤心的是，我的办公室就在房子里，几千张照片和我的笔记本都葬身火海。但所有的亲友都安然无恙，这才是最最重要的。”
理查德向英国独立电视台说起温丝莱特的骁勇之举：“是她把我母亲带了出来。她说好像在拍电影，你在等着导演喊‘停’，但却没有。在现实中演绎这一情景，这对她来说还真有点儿超现实。”
“她把我母亲拉出了房子。我母亲已经90岁高龄，还能走路，但那时候加快速度比什么都要紧，她(温丝莱特)真了不起。她把我母亲拽到怀里，以最快的速度把她救了出来。”
温丝莱特因出演2008年的电影《朗读者》斩获奥斯卡影后。她10岁的女儿米娅是她和第一任丈夫吉姆•薛瑞登所生，7岁的儿子乔，是和第二任丈夫、导演萨姆•门德斯所生。她目前单身，据传正与模特路易斯•杜勒交往。
（责任编辑:admin）
