Four abandon ship as engine bay burns

By Alexa Rowe

The Sark Venture was first on the scene yesterday and picked up the yacht’s crew. (Picture by Tony Rive, 0914784)

FOUR French sailors were rescued after their boat caught fire outside St Peter Port Harbour yesterday.

Unable to extinguish the blaze, the crew of the Anita Bomba took to their life raft one nautical mile out in the Little Russel. They were picked up by the Sark Venture at 12.08pm after it was diverted to help them.

Skipper Martin Dumont, 21, said the fire started in the engine room.

‘We had to leave very quickly because the boat is made of plastic and there was a lot of smoke. We tried to extinguish the fire, but there was still smoke so we had to leave.’

The Spirit of Guernsey lifeboat was called out to inspect the yacht and make sure the fire was out before towing it back to the harbour, where the damage could be fully assessed.

None of the sailors was badly hurt.

An ambulance spokesman said it was called to the scene to help a 21-year-old Frenchman who had breathed in smoke, but the effects were mild and he did not need hospital treatment.