CHARLESTON, S.C. – Watchstanders in the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston command center responded to a report of an engine fire aboard a 75-foot charter vessel carrying 40 people 11 miles off Little River, S.C., at 5:25 p.m. Thursday.
There were no injuries reported among the 38 adults and 2 children aboard.
Rescue boatcrews from Coast Guard Station Georgetown, S.C., Coast Guard Station Oak Island, N.C., and a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Facility Charleston were immediately launched. The fire was extinguished before the rescue crews’ arrival.
The vessel, named West Wind, is currently operating on one engine and is being escorted back to it’s homeport of Calabash, N.C. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Coast Guard urges all boaters to carry the proper lifesaving and firefighting equipment at all times in case of emergencies.
