A fishing vessel anchored outside Pier 5B in the Inner Harbour near Barra was on fire Wednesday, and the fire quickly spread to another fishing vessel anchored next to it, according to a joint statement by the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) and the Macau Customs Service yesterday.
No one was injured in the incident. The smoky blaze was jointly put out by vessels of the mainland and local marine authorities and local firefighters, according to the statement.
The statement pointed out that DSAMA officials and local customs officers on their respective patrol vessels noticed at 3;25 p.m. yesterday that the fishing boat anchored in front of Pier 5B – located in front of The Riviera Macau residential estate — was on fire. The blaze was so strong that it quickly spread to a fishing boat anchored nearby, the statement said.
A number of vessels of the local authorities – the Marine and Water Bureau and the Macau Customs Service — and the mainland authorities rushed to the scene for the joint firefighting and rescue operations, according to the statement. Officers on a Macau Customs Service vessel set up a firefighting command base, while officers on another Customs Service vessel, officials on two DSAMA vessels, and officials on a vessel of the mainland authorities sprayed water onto the two fishing boats.
According to the statement, the Fire Services Bureau (CB) also dispatched six vehicles to the scene for the operations. The statement added that about 20 firemen sprayed water and firefighting foam from the waterfront onto the two fishing boats and a Customs Service vessel transported several firemen to the burning boats. The statement said that the fire was brought under control within 20 minutes.
According to local media reports, the fire was extinguished half an hour after it erupted. The fishing boat where the fire broke out was gutted by the blaze, while the other fishing boat was partially burnt.
The statement did not say whether anyone was on the two boats when the fire broke out. The statement did not mention the possible cause of the blaze.
This year, the annual commercial fishing ban in the South China Sea started on May 1 and will last until ban, about 170 Macau fishing August 16 – a 3.5 month period, vessels have returned to the Inner According to local media reports, Harbour to stay there during the during this year’s annual fishing current fishing moratorium.(Macaunews)
