Five crew rescued from burning boat off Belgian coast

Five people on Wednesday were rescued from a burning boat off the coast of Oostduinkerke, part of Koksijde. All crew members are in good health. The five friends from Kortrijk were celebrating a birthday aboard the boat when they suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the motor, followed by an alarm and a lot of smoke.

Emergency workers received a call about the burning boat around 17.15 yesterday. The 10-metre long motorboat had caught fire for a yet unknown reason. All five people on board had already been rescued by another boat, and were brought ashore by 18.00.

Rescue crews were able to extinguish the fire fairly quickly. The burned-out boat was then towed to the port of Nieuwpoort. There is no water pollution as a result of the incident, according to the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre.