Boat catches fire while on Waccamaw River, one taken to hospital

One person was taken to the hospital after a boat caught fire while on the Waccamaw River about 6 p.m. Sunday, officials said.

The 36-foot boat was about two miles south of Wacca Wache Marina in Murrells Inlet when it caught fire. The four people on board jumped into the water to escape the fire and were picked up by another boat on the water until rescuers arrived, said Petty Officer Michael Rader with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Midway Fire Rescue, which was in the area for training and heard the emergency call, put out the fire. Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire also responded.

One person had minor burns and was taken to Waccamaw Community Hospital, Rader said. A cause of the fire isn’t yet known.

The boat was being towed to Wacca Wache Marina, and investigators with the Coast Guard planned to check on any potential pollution in the water, Rader said. Information about the boat’s owner wasn’t immediately available Sunday evening.

The sight startled boater Donna Skeen, who was out for a ride with her husband Daryl Faulkenberry. She applauded Midway crews for keeping other boaters safe while battling the fire.

“We were out just boat riding and just ran up on this,” Skeen said. “It was just free floating down the river on fire.”

She said crews got control of the boat and moved it to the edge of the water away from other boats.

This story was originally published May 3, 2015 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Boat catches fire while on Waccamaw River, one taken to hospital."