Two crew rescued from burning yacht off Poole


Two crew were rescued from a yacht which caught fire off Poole Harbour earlier this evening (Saturday 16 July 2016).

The UK Coastguard received a Mayday relay broadcast just before 7pm from a yacht reporting it had a fire on board.  The UK Coastguard also received multiple 999 calls from other vessels and members of the public in the area that could see the black smoke billowing from the vessel which was approximately 100 metres outside Poole Harbour.

Poole RNLI inshore and all weather lifeboats were immediately sent to the area along with the Poole Coastguard Rescue Team.

A nearby pleasure cruiser and several other vessels including a ferry, responded to the emergency broadcast and made their way to the burning vessel to assist the crew.  The pleasure cruiser recovered the two crew and transferred them to the Poole RNLI lifeboat who brought them to the Poole Lifeboat Station to be looked after.  The two crew had not inhaled any smoke and did not require medical treatment. 

The burning vessel was safely towed into Poole Harbour by the Poole RNLI all weather lifeboat where it was met by the Dorset Fire Service who put the fire out. 

David Jones Duty Controller for the UK Coastguard said: ‘Unfortunately the lifejackets were in the area where the fire started, but the two crew managed to stay calm under the circumstances, and were able to give us accurate information about their location which enabled the RNLI to reach them very quickly.  The crew were also very lucky to be in an area that had quite a lot of sea traffic who were able to offer assistance and we’d like to say thank you to all those who came to their assistance – especially the vessel that recovered the crew.  We’re just very pleased that they were rescued safely and can be reunited with their families tonight.’

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