One taken to hospital as boat goes up in flames off Waiheke Island

Sunday, 30 December 2018

Five people have been injured after a yacht caught fire off Auckland's Waiheke Island on Sunday morning.

A Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) spokesman said firefighters were called to the fire at Hook Bay at the eastern end of the Hauraki Gulf island just before 6.40am.

Firefighters, equipped with portable water pumps, extinguished the flames from a police boat.

Five people, including two children, were on board when the blaze broke out, but the FENZ spokesman said they had been accounted for.

An Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust spokesman said a chopper was called to the scene about 7.15am.

The two children along with two adults made it to shore by dinghy and sustained only minor injuries.

The fifth person, a man in his 40s, stayed on board to try and extinguish the blaze, before giving up and swimming to the beach.

He suffered smoke inhalation and was flown to Auckland Hospital in a moderate condition.

The fire was believed to have been started when the engine key was turned on, the rescue helicopter spokesman said.

It was understood the single-masted vessel was well ablaze by the time firefighters arrived, and that it had sustained considerable damage.