NEW CASTLE, N.H. — Three people and two dogs were rescued after jumping overboard when a fire erupted on a yacht in the Piscataqua River, New Hampshire State Police said.
According to WFXT, the blaze began about 4 p.m. Saturday as the 70-foot yacht, a 2007 Marlow called the “Elusive,” traveled toward Wentworth Marina in New Castle. The boat was “completely filled with smoke” just minutes later, police said in a news release.
“Three passengers, as well as two family dogs, jumped overboard as the boat became engulfed in flames,” said the release, which added that the NHSP Marine Patrol responded “within minutes.”
BOAT FIRE ON PISCATAQUA RIVER
— New Hampshire State Police (@NH_StatePolice) June 19, 2022
On Saturday, June 18, 2022 just after 4 PM, #NH E-911 received a call of a boat on fire on the Piscataqua River, near Little Harbor in Newcastle, NH. #NHSP #MarinePatrol were notified and on scene within minutes. pic.twitter.com/21VgMaVPUN
The Portsmouth Fire Department said another boat rescued the passengers and brought them ashore, where they were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for “minor injuries and hypothermia,” WFXT reported. Police also tweeted that the dogs were “safe and doing well.”
Meanwhile, the boat “drifted out of the harbor with the outgoing tide across the state line into Maine,” the release said. “Efforts by several agencies to save the boat were unsuccessful.”
The U.S. Coast Guard said the yacht was fully engulfed by 5:37 p.m., according to WFXT. It sank near Kittery, Maine, police said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, police said.
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