Rescued From Burning Boat

    A crew from the Montauk Coast Guard Station plucked a man from his smoldering boat Tuesday night, minutes before it was engulfed in flames. The 44-foot sportfishing boat, Island Girl, sank.

    Its captain, whose name has not been released, received first aid and was taken to Southampton Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

    Petty Officer Ismael Velasquez, coxswain of one of Montauk’s two 47-foot motor lifeboats, said the station got the call at about 7 p.m. Within 20 minutes, he and his five-person crew were on scene near Cerberus Shoal approximately five miles north of the Montauk Harbor Inlet.

    “It was hard to see, then we saw him on radar. When we got closer all we could see was smoke. We got the man off and three or four minutes later the boat was consumed by flames,” Mr. Velasquez said. He kept his boat at a safe distance until the Island Girl sank