British-flagged sailing boat “PADMA” sank in the early morning hours of Friday in the bay of Laganas of the island of Zakynthos. A fire that broke out had previously almost completely burned down the boat. All eight foreign passengers on board were rescued.
As soon as the fire broke out around Friday midnight, fire service, coast guard and private boats approached the vessel standing in flames.
Ambulances were dispatched to the nearest coast line to provide aid to potential injured people.
At the time of the fire the sailing boat was in the bay of Laganas, near Marathonisi.
A boat of the Fire Service and a tourist boat dropped water to the burning yacht.
Nearby was also a lifeguard boat of the Coast Guard.
Passengers and crew were evacuated in time most of them using the life boats of the yacht. They were transferred to safety by another private yacht that had sailed to the area.
A Coast Guard statement said that the 8 passengers were of “foreign nationality” but did not disclose further details.
The reasons for the fire are unknown.
Citing the PADMA owner and the captain, local media report that the the fire broke out all of a sudden and that the two attribute to a possible short circuit.
The Coast Guard investigates.
