Four of the people on board Scorpion II are led away by an Ambulance and Rescue Service staff member and one of the lifeboat crew. (Picture by Tony Rive, 0577751)
NINE people were rescued when the engine of the Sunseeker, Scorpion II, caught fire. Two of them needed hospital treatment for smoke inhalation.
The boat’s owner and skipper, Graham Beck, put out a Mayday call at about 7pm on Friday when smoke was spotted coming out of the bulkheads. ‘I want to thank everyone who helped in the rescue effort – the lifeboat, fire brigade and Buz White,’ said Mr Beck, 46.
He explained what had happened while the boat was just off St Martin’s Point.
‘Smoke started to come out of the engine and the bulkheads and it felt really hot,’ he said.
He said an automatic fire extinguisher in the engine had gone off.
But he played safe by getting everyone on board into the boat’s life rafts.
‘Then another boat came along and the people in the other life raft got into that boat.’
He said he did not know the owner of that craft, but thanked him for his help.
‘The smoke seemed to be reducing, so I stayed with the boat.’
Mr Beck went back on board with a friend, while the others were brought to the Inter-Island Quay at the White Rock and checked over by an ambulance crew.
A two-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy were treated for smoke inhalation at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
‘The lifeboat came out, but I didn’t see it because it picked up the others.
‘Buz White towed us back in to the harbour and the fire brigade checked the boat over,’ said Mr Beck.
Mr White is the coxswain of the St Peter Port lifeboat, but he was in his own boat, Access Challenger.
Deputy harbour master Tony Pattimore co-ordinated the rescue, which also involved the Flying Christine, which left St Peter Port at about 7.15pm.
The Fire & Rescue and Ambulance and Rescue services and police attended.
Mr Pattimore said Mr Beck had been right to make the distress call.
‘This gentleman did the right thing and all measures were put into place to ensure the safety of his passengers,’ he said.
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One Article Comment
hi im e i think its incredable that two people that i know were saved !!!!
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