At around 3.20pm, the coastguard received a mayday call after a fire broke out in the 38ft vessel’s engine room. Two people on board were evacuated and are believed to be unharmed. Lifeboat crews discovered the boat well-alight and did not attempt to extinguish the flames for safety reasons. The fire tug is now on the scene, and nearby vessels have been advised to avoid the area, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. “At approximately 3.20pm today, HM Coastguard received a MAYDAY alert reporting a fire in the engine room of a vessel with two people on board in the East Solent,” a spokesperson for the government agency said. Bembridge and Gosport lifeboats were dispatched, and both passengers were evacuated from the vessel before it was towed to an anchorage.” “Both Hampshire Fire and Rescue and the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service are responding, and a fire tug is on its way, with all vessels advised to stay clear.” “Bembridge RNLI has responded to an incident this afternoon on the Solent,” an RNLI spokeswoman added. The All-Weather lifeboat was dispatched in response to reports of a 38-foot vessel on fire with two people aboard. “The Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service was the first on the scene” (GAFIRS). The crew of the Independent lifeboat safely recovered the two casualties from the vessel and attached a towline to it. Two people on board were evacuated and are believed to be unharmed. “When the Bembridge RNLI arrived on the scene, they took over the tow and anchored the burning vessel.” The two people were rescued by the Bembridge lifeboat crew and are recovering from their injuries. A tug from the Queen’s Harbour Master in Portsmouth has been dispatched to try to put out the fire.
More news from Bembridge
