Overview
- The 30-foot pleasure craft Third Wave left Eel Pond in Falmouth on Friday and was reported overdue Tuesday night, prompting an overnight search by the Coast Guard and local authorities.
- The vessel caught fire Monday night, forcing a mother, father and adult son to abandon ship, swim to Naushon Island and shelter in a barn for roughly 30 hours.
- After the son found the boat’s marine radio on the beach, he issued a mayday that led Naushon Trust volunteers to the family before a Coast Guard helicopter hoisted them off the island.
- Two family members were taken to Cape Cod Hospital and one with severe burns was flown to Brigham and Women’s burn unit in Boston; relatives say the mother is critical but stable and the son is stable with third-degree arm burns.
- Officials said calls and cellphone pings could not locate the boat, and the Coast Guard along with Massachusetts state police are investigating the cause of the fire while crediting safety gear and quick thinking for the survival.