A commercial fishing vessel caught fire and burned down Thursday morning in the Cook Inlet.
The U.S. Coast Guard got a report of the accident, but did not have to respond because the two people on board the vessel had already been rescued, said Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios of the Coast Guard.
“There (were) two people aboard, and those two people were removed by a good Samaritan,” Rios said.
Neither person was injured, he said. The 29-foot bow picker completely burned down and has sunk, said Lt. Brent Mellen with the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Homer.
“It was a fiberglass vessel that was engulfed in flames,” he said.
Mellen got the call at about 7:45 a.m., and said the Alaska State Troopers were already aware of the accident when he called them.
The Marine Safety Detachment in Homer will head out today to where the vessel burned about 4 miles north of the Kasilof River mouth to check for potential pollution hazards, Mellen said. Rios said the Coast Guard has no indication so far of pollution in the area.
“We check for the diesel on board,” Mellen said. “At this time it looks like it appears to be burned.”
There were only 100 gallons on board the vessel, and there is no visible sheen on the water to indicate the presence of oil, he said.
Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.
