A couple from Clearwater, Florida, are thankful to be alive and grateful for the help that appeared out of nowhere.
John Brawley and his wife have been boating since the day they met, and have owned their beloved yacht for 30 years, Fox 13 reported. Reported On Thursday.
On Saturday, the crew, who were anchored in the Port of Clearwater en route to Sarasota, experienced the terrifying and potentially life-threatening incident around 3 a.m.
When things started to heat up between the couple, Brawley said“We opened the door and there was this whoosh! This massive acid smoke came flying out and it burned our eyes. We were suffocating pretty quickly,” he told WFLA.
They knew they had to get out quickly and ran outside – they didn't have mobile phones so had no way to call for help – but they didn't expect the fishing boat to be heading straight for them.
The boatman pulled alongside their yacht and told them to get on and call the U.S. Coast Guard for help.
“About 15 minutes after we got to the pier we could see flames coming out of the engine room and it was a tremendous burn from there – it was burning from one end to the other,” Broley recalled.
After the harrowing escape and rescue, Mr Brawley said he “couldn't have been luckier” and thanked the emergency services who responded to the scene and put out the fire.
Video footage show The sinking yacht is still smoking:
The boat has since sunk while divers check to see if it can be brought back to shore, according to a report from Fox 13. Authorities are making plans to remove the boat, and it's unclear at this time what caused the fire.
“In less than 30 minutes of our lives, everything changed. We're here safe and we're so grateful,” Brawley said.
In July, a couple who went missing during a diving trip off the coast of Texas were rescued by the Coast Guard after being missing for 38 hours, Breitbart News reported.
