A Fort Lauderdale-based cruise ship rescued six boaters off the coast of the Bahamas after their fishing vessel caught fire and sunk Monday evening.
The distressed boaters had been clinging to floating debris for more than an hour when crew members of the Discovery Sun pulled the two women and four men onboard, said Samantha Poole, the cruise ship’s Hotel Director. The rescued boaters were not wearing life vists, she added.
The boaters were of Jamaican, Haitian and Cuban decent, Poole said. They included two women aged 25 and 38, as well as four men aged 24, 31, 40, and 45.
According to Poole, the rescuees suffered second degree burns in the boat fire. They were given a cabin and medical treatment on the Discovery Sun while ship officials waited for U.S. officials to arrive.
"All incidents such as these are reported to the U.S. Coast Guard and all will be inspected by U.S immigration also," said Poole. "After that, we really don't know what will happen but we will assist them and return them to Grand Bahama Island."
The Coast Guard confirmed Monday night that they had sent a ship to the Discovery Sun to retrieve six rescued passengers. Coast Guard officials planned to embargo and interview the rescued boaters, spokeswoman Sabrina Elgammal said.
The Coast Guard could not confirm the identity of the passengers or the circumstances surrounding their rescue Monday night, Elgammal said, because its investigation was still open.
According to Poole, the rescued boaters were out fishing for multiple hours when their fishing boat burst into flames.
At about 6 p.m., a personal aircraft reported to Freeport Harbor on Grand Bahamas Island that a ship was burning about 57.5 miles off the coast of Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale.
The Discovery Sun, which was on its daily return trip from Grand Bahama to Port Everglades, was quickly sent to assist the distressed ship, Poole said.
The captain of the Sun and the rescued passengers were unavailable for comment Monday night.
The distressed boaters had been clinging to floating debris for more than an hour when crew members of the Discovery Sun pulled the two women and four men onboard, said Samantha Poole, the cruise ship’s Hotel Director. The rescued boaters were not wearing life vists, she added.
The boaters were of Jamaican, Haitian and Cuban decent, Poole said. They included two women aged 25 and 38, as well as four men aged 24, 31, 40, and 45.
According to Poole, the rescuees suffered second degree burns in the boat fire. They were given a cabin and medical treatment on the Discovery Sun while ship officials waited for U.S. officials to arrive.
"All incidents such as these are reported to the U.S. Coast Guard and all will be inspected by U.S immigration also," said Poole. "After that, we really don't know what will happen but we will assist them and return them to Grand Bahama Island."
The Coast Guard confirmed Monday night that they had sent a ship to the Discovery Sun to retrieve six rescued passengers. Coast Guard officials planned to embargo and interview the rescued boaters, spokeswoman Sabrina Elgammal said.
The Coast Guard could not confirm the identity of the passengers or the circumstances surrounding their rescue Monday night, Elgammal said, because its investigation was still open.
According to Poole, the rescued boaters were out fishing for multiple hours when their fishing boat burst into flames.
At about 6 p.m., a personal aircraft reported to Freeport Harbor on Grand Bahamas Island that a ship was burning about 57.5 miles off the coast of Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale.
The Discovery Sun, which was on its daily return trip from Grand Bahama to Port Everglades, was quickly sent to assist the distressed ship, Poole said.
The captain of the Sun and the rescued passengers were unavailable for comment Monday night.