A couple of Texas fishermen rescued four boaters from a burning yacht on Saturday, according to the Coast Guard.
Those rescued — three adults and a six-year-old boy — were pulled to safety before the yacht sunk to its watery grave in the waters near Galveston, Texas.
NBC News reports that the yacht sunk roughly an hour after the fire erupted and that the fire, according to the yacht’s owner, began in the ship’s engine.
Seaman Jason Hall, a crewman with the Coast Guard who was amongst those dispatched to assist the distressed ship and its crew, said in a statement that it’s “nice to see that there are good people that are willing to help.”
It’s good that we had a quick response and we were able to save four people (…) It’s also nice to see that there are good people that are willing to help.
The incident took place near the Galveston jetty at around 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 local time).
The Galveston fishermen who rescued the Texas family, Mike Losoya and Michael Marquez, raced over to the boat after they saw it burning from their fishing boat.
Those aboard the now sunken yacht included a mother and father, their son and the young boy’s grandfather.
Marquez was quoted by the Daily Mail as having said that his “instinct” was to get the young boy off the burning boat and onto his own. He reportedly yelled to the family aboard the sinking ship, “Throw the kid! Throw the kid!”
My instinct was to get him off the boat and onto mine
USCG Heartland tweeted from their confirmed Twitter account that all of those involved in the incident “are okay.”
Good Sam just rescued 4 off Galveston Jetty. @USCG Station brought back. All are okay. #rescue #breakingnews #fire pic.twitter.com/TBqq54fsWd
— USCG Heartland (@USCGHeartland) September 20, 2015
While the mother and the child were taken aboard the fishing vessel after having jumped ship, the two men left behind were eventually picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard and safely transported away from the wreckage.
