Coast Guard training turns real when vessel bursts into flames off Alabama; 4 rescued

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter training exercise turned into a real life rescue late Monday when a nearby fishing vessel burst into flames off the Alabama coast, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The fishing trawler was fully engulfed in flames when four people were rescued from the deck, video shows.

The crew members were listed in stable condition after being taken to shore, the Coast Guard said in a news release. Their names were not released.

Coast Guard watchstanders learned around 6:45 p.m. that a commercial fishing vessel named the Alexandria Pearl was on fire half a mile south of Fort Morgan, according to the news release. The area is in the Gulf of Mexico, just south of Mobile, Alabama.

Photos show rescuers reached the boat in darkness as flames were spreading from bow to stern.

“Two Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter aircrews were conducting training flights nearby and diverted to respond (to) the distress,” the Coast Guard said. “One of the helicopters lowered a rescue swimmer and life raft, and all four people aboard the vessel abandoned ship into the raft.”

A Coast Guard rescue boat was then sent to pick up the four and take them to waiting EMS crews for medical treatment.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said.