- More than thirty children rescued from a burning boat
- Ferries were diverted after a fire in Port Philip Bay
Schoolchildren were among 22 people rescued from a burning ferry after it caught fire in Melbourne’s Port Philip Bay.
Police said the ship’s engine compartment caught fire in the waters off Queenscliff, a town on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, about 8.30am on Thursday.
A second ferry and a Parks Victoria boat helped rescue 22 people on board.
Police then extinguished the ferry and returned it to shore.
“The exact circumstances surrounding the fire have yet to be determined, but the fire is not being treated as suspicious,” police said in a statement.
No injuries have been reported.
Dozens of schoolchildren were rescued from a burning boat this morning after it caught fire in Melbourne’s Port Philip Bay (pictured)
A caller to radio station 3AW revealed that she had witnessed the rescue of more than twenty students during a water emergency operation.
She told host Tom Elliot that the ferry she was traveling on had to be diverted while the rescue effort was underway.
“It looks like there are about 30 kids with life jackets,” she said.
There are two ferry routes in Port Phillip, one between Portarlington and Docklands and another between Melbourne and Geelong.
It is unclear whether both routes were interrupted by the sea rescue operation.
