SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Coast Guard Sector San Juan marine investigators and Incident Management personnel responded, Wednesday, to a fire aboard the 75-foot motor yacht Emilia in Fajardo.
The vessel fire was successfully extinguished by local emergency responders, there are no people missing or injuries reported, and Coast Guard investigators are working to determine the cause of the incident.
Coast Guard Incident Management personnel are working with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and other local authorities to assess the impact of any remaining fuel pollution in the water.
Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a call from a 911 emergency management service operator at 5:54 p.m. reporting the fire and five people onboard the motor yacht Emilia. Watchstanders were able to establish communications with the vessel operator who relayed the vessel had just been refueled at Puerto del Rey Marina and had approximately 600 gallons of diesel onboard. After refueling the vessel Emilia was heading to Puerto Chico Marina when the fire alarm was activated soon after followed by smoke emanating from the engine room. The operator proceeded to anchor the vessel and the five people onboard proceeded to jump into the water and were rescued by a Good Samaritan who transported them to the Puerto Chico Marina.
Coast Guard watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast to alert vessel traffic of the ongoing distress. Coast Guard marine investigators and Puerto Rico Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine units responded to the scene along with firefighters who successfully extinguished the fire, and the motor yacht Emilia sunk with its bow sticking out of the water.
“This vessel fire was a very serious and catastrophic incident, and we are glad that the people onboard were able to evacuate the vessel without injury,” said Cmdr. Matthew Romano, Coast Guard Sector San Juan chief of response. “The Coast Guard is investigating this incident to find the potential causes and conducting an assessment with local authorities on the impacts of fuel pollution and debris in the marine environment. Coast Guard Incident Management personnel will be overseeing the development of a work plan from the vessel owner and operator to conduct any necessary clean-up actions to restore the impacts to the marine environment. We highly commend all responding Puerto Rico Police, firefighting and local agency personnel who arrived on scene quickly and successfully extinguished a fire, averting a greater catastrophic outcome. This incident highlights the importance of recreational boating safety laws and mandatory safety equipment such as life jackets, fire extinguishers and distress signals. It is why enforcement is so important to the Coast Guard and its federal, state and local law enforcement and environmental partners.”
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