A 70-foot yacht caught fire in Long Island Sound Thursday afternoon and eight people were rescued before the vessel sank, according to the Branford Fire Department.
Crews from Branford River, Stony Creek, the United States Coast Guard and the Guilford Fire Department responded, but the boat was five to seven miles from either harbor and the fire was pretty well involved.
Eight people on boats described as “civilian boats” rescued the people who were on the engulfed boat and the Coast Guard brought them to shore, according to the fire department.
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No injuries were reported.
“Despite our best efforts the fire was too advanced and unsafe for boarding to reach the seat of the fire,” a Facebook post from the Branford Fire Department said, and the boat sunk.
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The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to address environmental issues.
The cause of the fire is not known.
