Coast Guard rescues two after boat engine catches fire in Grand Haven Channel
A 30-foot pleasure craft caught fire inside the Grand Haven Channel on Friday afternoon, leaving two people stranded aboard a smoking boat as it drifted near the entrance to Lake Michigan.
GRAND HAVEN — A 30-foot pleasure craft caught fire inside the Grand Haven Channel on Friday afternoon, leaving two people stranded aboard a smoking boat as it drifted near the entrance to Lake Michigan.
County dispatchers first alerted Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan to the disabled vessel at 3:27 p.m. Within minutes, watchstanders at Station Grand Haven launched a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and issued an urgent warning to nearby traffic.
The boat was still trapped between the pier heads — just short of the open lake — when rescuers pulled alongside.
Coast Guard crew members quickly transferred both passengers onto the response boat. Rescuers then boarded the smoking vessel, using an extinguisher and onboard pumps to put out the engine fire before taking the craft in tow.
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The disabled boat and its passengers were towed to North Shore Marina along the Grand River. Local firefighters met the crew at the dock to secure the vessel and check for residual hotspots.
No injuries were reported, and officials confirmed no fuel spilled into the waterway.
— Heather VanDyke covers northern Ottawa County for the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at hvandyke@ottawanewsnetwork.org.
