Massachusetts emergency units respond to fire on berthed yacht

Numerous local police and fire departments have responded to an incident involving a luxury yacht that caught fire while berthed at the Pope Island Marina in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on Monday, August 30.

The incident occurred at around 17:30 local time on Monday when a blaze ignited on the 85-foot (25-metre) yacht, identified by the name Miss Dunia.

Firefighting boats and other emergency response vessels immediately deployed to the scene. However, officials said the blaze was so intense that the yacht was engulfed in flames in a matter of minutes.

Officials of the First District of the Dartmouth Fire Department, which had deployed one of its response boats to render assistance, said the fire was “very stubborn” due to the material of the yacht’s hull and the fact that an estimated 500 gallons (1,890 litres) of fuel was still in its tanks.

The fire was extinguished later in the evening of Monday. All 14 people who were on board the yacht when the blaze ignited were already safely evacuated before the flames spread throughout the vessel.