Fishing vessel rescues 4 from burning boat near Port au Choix

Four people were rescued from a burning fishing vessel on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to the quick response of a nearby crew.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Halifax says it received a call in the early afternoon that a vessel was in distress with a fire onboard, 28 nautical miles west-southwest of Port au Choix.

A fishing vessel in the area also responded to the distress signal, and reached the flaming boat before a Cormorant helicopter from Gander and an assisting coast guard ship could arrive.

'They were prepared for the worst'

"The fire on board the distressed vessel was unable to be contained," JRCC spokesperson Capt. Liam Mather told CBC News.

It's unknown if the boaters sustained injuries in the fire, but Mather said no one was hurt while leaping from one vessel to the other.

All four people were wearing survival suits.

"They were prepared for the worst, should it have happened," Mather said.

"We're just pretty thankful we were able to get the response we had from the local fishing vessel."

Mather could not disclose the name of either fishing vessel involved in Wednesday's incident.