A Newfoundland couple whose 52-foot pleasure craft caught fire off the B.C. coast Wednesday afternoon narrowly managed to escape unharmed, according to Mounties.
The pair was returning from a weeklong trip in the San Juan Islands when a fire broke out on their 1987 fiberglass boat near Galiano Island around 4 p.m.
They decided to abandon ship with their dog, but as the flames spread they had trouble getting their dinghy detached from the vessel.
Fortunately, a nearby whale watching boat and a small fishing vessel arrived at the scene and helped get everyone off the boat safely, RCMP Cpl. Rod Pick said.
“The couple were extremely lucky to have escaped,” Pick said in a statement.
They were transported to Galiano then boarded a BC Ferries sailing back to Tsawwassen.
The boat eventually sank, Mounties said.
