8 Rescued From Burning Boat Near Sandy Hook, N.J.

A good Samaritan was credited with rescuing eight people from a burning boat near Sandy Hook, New Jersey late Sunday afternoon. Around 5 p.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook got a distress call over VHF Channel 16 from a 40-foot recreational boat, saying the boat was on fire, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A Coast Guard rescue crew went out on a 47-Motor Lifeboat and found the burning boat along with the FDNY.

The good Samaritan had already transferred the eight people off the boat, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard assisted the FDNY in putting out the fire on the boat. The fire was extinguished, but the boat was destroyed by the fire and sank in about 85 feet of water about six miles offshore, the Coast Guard said. All eight people who had been on the boat were taken to shore by the FDNY and were treated for minor medical concerns, the Coast Guard said. There was no report of any pollution in the water.