They administered oxygen until a South Western Ambulance crew took over.

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On that occasion, oxygen was pumped into the vessel to supplement the crew's air supply but all it did was fuel the flames of a fire which had already started, raising the temperature on board to 1, 000 degrees Celsius.

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Its maker, a Dutch alchemist called Cornelius van Drebbel, is thought to have used a primitive oxygen-supply system, based on saltpetre, to prevent the crew from asphyxiating.

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