Crew rescued after Fuengirola fishing boat catches fire near Calaburras lighthouse

A fishing boat named Pedro Benzal, based in Fuengirola, caught fire eight miles (about twelve kilometres) southeast of the Calaburras lighthouse this Tuesday afternoon. The fire broke out shortly after three o'clock in the afternoon, and the crew, including the skipper, were rescued and brought to safety.

Maritime Rescue received the first warning at 3.05pm on VHF channel 16, the maritime radio communication system, which reported that a fishing boat had gone up in flames and that the crew had abandoned the vessel, being rescued by two vessels in the area, the San Pedro and Sa Rata.

The Helimer 220 helicopter and the Salvamar Alnitak were mobilised to the scene. The latter transferred the skipper to Fuengirola, and requested the presence of an ambulance so that he could be attended to by the doctors, although they confirmed that he was in good health.

Customs surveillance and Civil Guard patrol boats have also moved to the area to try to extinguish the fire on the vessel, whose cabin, according to Salvamento Marítimo, has been destroyed by fire. On Tuesday evening the officers were still on the scene trying to completely extinguish the flames, which caused a large column of smoke.