Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Thursday, Aug. 15 @ 10:47 a.m. / Emergencies, Ocean
Three Rescued From Burning Vessel Off Brookings Tuesday Evening; GoFundMe Set Up For Survivor
(Updated at 12:48 p.m. to clarify that Iria Silveira-Bagley is Emanuel Silveira's aunt and Jaimie Ouellette is his mother-in-law.)
Three people are in a San Francisco-area hospital after their fishing vessel caught on fire about 50 nautical miles off the coast of Brookings on Tuesday.
According to Petty Officer Briana Carter, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard 13th District, a good Samaritan got the three survivors out of the water and transferred them to a Coast Guard vessel, which brought them to shore for care.
“The only information I have about the burning vessel is it was actively on fire when we [arrived],” Carter told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Thursday. “This was quite a few miles offshore.”
The Coast Guard was notified of the vessel fire at about 8 p.m. Tuesday. The commercial fishing vessel is known as the Mariah K.
According to a Coast Guard Facebook post on Wednesday, the three individuals rescued from the Mariah K were taken to UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital.
According to a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of Emanuel Silveira, the Mariah K is “gone due to the engine exploding.”
The campaign was created by Jaimie Ouellette, who said Silveira is his her son-in-law. Silveira has burns covering 60 percent of his body and is expected to stay in the hospital for about three months “due to many estimated surgeries.”
According to Silveira’s uncle aunt, Iria Silveira-Bagley, his nephew’s first surgery is expected to be scheduled for Friday.
"We all appreciate the community support, especially the commercial California/ Oregon community, [and] all the prayer and well wishes," Silveira-Bagley told the Outpost via Facebook Messenger on Thursday.
Silveira operates out of Woodley Island Marina in Eureka, offering locally-caught rockfish, crab and tuna, according to his Instagram page.
The good Samaritan who pulled Silveira and the two other individuals from the water is Kyle Aubin. His wife confirmed with the Outpost that Aubin was the one who helped, but declined to comment.
“It’s just what a good person would do,” she said. “We’re just glad they’re all OK.”