| UK. Man loses boat and home as yacht burns to gunwhales |
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| Wednesday, 04 January 2006 | |
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MCA news: A man escaped with his life this morning after his vessel was engulfed in flames whilst he slept onboard. Falmouth Coastguard was called by the Fire and Rescue Service at 4.00 am this morning, with a report of a fire onboard a vessel in the Penryn River. At the time, it was unclear as to whether there were people onboard. Falmouth Coastguard Rescue Team was requested to attend the scene and assess the situation. The Falmouth RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was also requested to launch. The fire service used the inshore lifeboat as a platform from which to fight the fire, before it was able to board a neighbouring vessel to douse the flames still further. In the meantime, the Coastguard team made enquiries regarding people onboard and were able to locate the owner of the 28 ft yacht, 'Lasina 2', who had escaped through the front hatch of his vessel when he realized that it was on fire. The man, in his late twenties, waded across the mud to a neighbouring vessel where he was sheltering, unhurt. Henry Purbrick, Falmouth Coastguard Watch Manager said "The owner of this vessel, brought the boat up from Truro to Penryn yesterday. He lived on the vessel, so all of his belongings were destroyed in the fire, which he thinks could have started in the engine room. The yacht was burnt to a level beyond the gunwhales and is beyond repair. It sank whilst attempting to tow it to Islington Wharf. We would like to remind yacht owners to ensure that their vessels are well maintained for safety at sea and on shore." |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 January 2006 ) |
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