Three people were rescued from a burning boat by the United States Coast Guard near Fishers Island early Sunday morning.
Members of the Coast Guard found the 50-foot-long liner burning near Cereberus Shoal, a few miles away from Fisher’s Island, around 6:45 a.m. Sunday. The Coast Guard had been alerted to the incident by the father of one of the people on the boat, officials said.
The boat’s crew members had already abandoned ship and boarded a life raft, according to officials.
Coast Guards crew members from a New London station recovered the mariners in a 45-foot response boat around 7:15 a.m.
The mariners were all wearing survival gear, including lifejackets, and no injuries or medical concerns were reported.
Boat crews from the Montauk Coast Guard Station also responded, as well as a helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod. East End Marine Task Force called to put out the fire, but the burning vessel had sunk before it could be reached.
“It was an excellent response from all involved,” said Mark Averill, a command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. “The mariners took appropriate action, had their survival gear onboard and safely utilized the life raft. Three lives saved is a good day.”
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
