HOUSTON (AP) - The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued eight people from a burning fishing vessel off the coast near Freeport in Southeast Texas.
The Coast Guard says a crewmember on a 48-foot fishing vessel called them early Saturday evening to report the boat was on fire and they were preparing to abandon ship.
Coast Guard crews from Freeport were launched. They contained the fire and transferred the eight people - seven adults and one child - onto a rescue boat.
Lt. j.g. Melissa McCafferty, the command duty officer from the Houston-Galveston sector, says those aboard the burning boat were a good example of being prepared. She says not only did all members have life jackets, but they also had a six-man life raft in case the situation got worse.
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