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A family’s boat caught fire off Cape Cod. They swam to an island and were rescued 2 days later.
"Our ship burned while we were sleeping. We barely escaped."
The Coast Guard rescued a family Wednesday morning who had been stranded on an island off Cape Cod for two days after their boat caught fire.
The mother, father, and son — in their 30-foot pleasure craft “Third Wave” — departed from Eel Pond in Falmouth on Friday, with plans to remain anchored between Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard and return on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Coast Guard.
“After waking up to a vessel fire Monday night, the family abandoned ship and swam to the nearby island, where they found a barn for shelter,” officials said, identifying the island as Naushon Island.
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The Coast Guard received a report of the missing boat from another family member on Tuesday evening after the three failed to return.
The Coast Guard and local emergency personnel began a search for the vessel that evening and into the morning. Calls to the family went to voicemail, and cellphone pings did not give an accurate location, officials said.
The son eventually located the boat’s marine radio, which had washed ashore, and used it to call for help Wednesday morning, according to the Coast Guard.
“Our ship burned while we were sleeping. We barely escaped,” the son said in the mayday call obtained by WCVB.
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“Quick thinking and having quality equipment allowed the family to survive and call for help,” Scott Backholm, a Coast Guard search and rescue mission coordinator, said.
The family members — one with serious injuries and the other two with minor injuries —were airlifted and taken to Cape Cod Hospital that morning, according to The Boston Globe.
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