Seven men and women who were fishing near Cheung Chau yesterday evening had to jump into the sea and swim to safety when their boat went up in flames.
The group of four men and three women, aged 25 to 63, were fishing for squid off the coast of Cheung Chau at around 10pm, Oriental Daily reports. At about 10:30pm, a 54-year-old woman surnamed Chan — the boat owner — noticed smoke coming from a fire in the 11-meter boat’s engine room.
All seven people on board jumped into the sea to escape the fire and swam to the nearby typhoon shelter. Personnel from the Fire Services Department arrived on the scene and used three jets to fight the flames. It took two and a half hours for firefighters to put out the second-alarm fire.
Initial investigations suggest that the blaze was started by a garbage-clogged water pipe. No suspicious circumstances have been reported.
Two of the women on board sustained minor injuries but refused medical help. Marine police brought the fishing party back to Cheung Chau Pier.
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