Man Rescues 8 From Burning Boat Off Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area - Late Sunday afternoon, we told you that 8 people had to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after their boat caught fire several miles off Sandy Hook. However, Patch has now learned that an unknown fellow boater arrived on the scene first, before the Coast Guard got there, and took the 8 people onto his boat as their's started to sink in 85 feet of ocean water.

At approximately 5:00 p.m. Sunday, the Coast Guard station at Sandy Hook received a distress call from a 40-foot recreational boat that their boat was on fire, located six miles off Sandy Hook. Coast Guard crews went out, but by the time they located the burning boat, a Good Samaritan had already arrived and had safely transferred the eight people onto his boat. The Coast Guard told Patch they did not catch his name, or where he was from. People reported they could see the smoke from the burning boat as far south as Mantoloking and Asbury Park beaches.

The FDNY also responded, and they and the Coast Guard were able to put the fire out on the boat. However, the boat was unrecoverable and sank in 85 feet of water approximately six miles off the coast of Sandy Hook. All eight people were transferred ashore by FDNY crews and were treated for minor medical concerns, including smoke inhalation.

There is no report of pollution in the water at this time. The photo of the burning, sinking boat has been provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, Sandy Hook station.