A boat from Sabana de la Mar, named ‘Catalina’, with 21 fishermen on board caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Bay of Samana. The boat was destroyed but the Coastguard and the Navy rescued the occupants from the sea. Only one man, Elvis Reyes, required hospitalization.
The ‘Catalina’ was 60 feet long and left on 24 September to go to Bajos de la Plata in the north of the country. According to Navy spokesman Captain Antonio Cabral, the boat was returning to port after its fishing trip when an electrical fault caused a fire on board. The captain of the vessel, Felipe R. Arias Sanchez, sent an SOS message to the Navy who responded immediately, alerted the coastguard and sent a launch to rescue the fisherman. They were met by a medical team on arrival at the port of Samana, as reported in Listin Diario.