(KMOV) -- Firefighters are investigating what caused a blaze that destroyed an iconic St. Louis riverboat.
A fire left the "Lieutenant Robert E. Lee" boat in ashes. It happened on Sunday around 2:45 p.m.
At this point investigators have yet to publicly state what sparked the fire that ripped through the entire boat. Fire officials say the boat is a total loss.
Authorities tell News 4 that when firefighters arrived on the scene, they had problems pumping water out of two fire hydrants. Once they fixed the problem, firefighters pumped thousands of gallons of water into the burning riverboat.
For years the riverboat served as a restaurant and night-spot on the St. Louis riverfront.
The Robert E. Lee was built in the late 1960's and could be found parked near the Arch. It was damaged in the flood of '93 and was later sold, renovated and sold again to the Petroff family at the end of 2008. The new owners had planned to reopen the boat and move it to St. Charles. The owner was at the scene, but failed to comment on the incident.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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