Twenty-one people are safe after being rescued from a burning boat 230 miles south of Jarvis Island 0n Saturday.
Twenty-one people are safe after being rescued from a burning boat 230 miles south of Jarvis Island 0n Saturday.
Watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center received a distress alert from an emergency position indicating radio beacon at 2 a.m. Saturday, accordign to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The center determined the EPIRB belonged to the Kiribati-flagged 140-foot fishing vessel Betty C.
A safetynet broadcast was subsequently issued and the U.S.-flagged fishing vessel Cape Ferrat responded. Cape Ferrat arrived on scene at 9:30 a.m. and discovered Betty C on fire and its 21 passengers adrift in a small skiff after abandoning ship.
Cape Ferrat safely rescued all 21 passengers from the skiff and will transfer them to American Samoa. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown. The vessel’s owner is working to develop a plan to salvage the vessel.