CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. – Coast Guard crews rescued two mariners after their boat caught fire 14 miles northeast of Chincoteague Friday evening.
Watchstanders with the Sector Hampton Roads Command Center in Portsmouth received a call from two men aboard the 32-foot boat Rod Buster who said there was a fire onboard the vessel. A rescue boat from Station Chincoteague was dispatched to assist in the matter.
While rescue crews were on the way, the mariners were able to extinguish the fire, but the boat began taking on water.
Once Station Chincoteague personnel were on the scene, personnel transferred a dewatering pump to the boat and plugged a hole in its hull. The vessel was then towed back to Curtis Merritt Harbor in Chincoteague, where the vessel was safely moored.
