Cruise Ship Rescues Six People off the Bahamas from Sunken Ship

Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based cruise ship, the Discovery Sun, rescued six boaters whose vessel caught fire and sunk on Monday evening off the coast of the Bahamas. 

The passengers’ boat reportedly burst into flames after being on the water fishing for a few hours and were found holding onto floating debris without life vests for over an hour before the crew of the Discovery Sun rescued them from the water. 

The boat, prior to sinking, was spotted burning 57.5 miles off the coast of Port Everglades when the Discovery Sun spotted the stranded boaters while on its return trip from Grand Bahama.  

The boaters have been identified as four men and two women, according to the cruise ship’s Hotel Director, Samantha Poole.  She added that they were of Cuban, Haitian, and Jamaican descent said that they planned to assist the rescues and return them to Grand Bahama Island.

The six individuals suffered second degree burns in result of the boat fire and were given cabin and medical treatment once boarded on the Discovery Sun while waiting for U.S. officials, as all incidents of this nature are to be reported to the Coast Guard and to U.S. Immigration. 

The Coast Guard confirmed that they sent a ship to the Discovery Sun to retrieve the boaters and plan to embargo and conduct interviews, spokeswoman Sabrina Elgammal reported. 

The investigation of the incident is still pending.