Fears of a boat fire off the north coast of the Island sparked an immediate launch for Cowes RNLI earlier this evening (Friday).
Solent Coastguard paged the volunteer lifeboat crew at 19:55 after a 35ft motor boat reported it was on fire off Gurnard. The 2 persons on board – a man and a woman – said they were taking to a dinghy attached to the vessel.
Once alongside the motor boat a lifeboat crew member inspected the engine bay and found some heated wires due to a lack of cooling water going through the engine. The overheating was caused due to a partially blocked inlet after the vessel went aground at Newtown earlier today.
The casualty vessel has been towed to a berth in East Cowes Marina.
