Boat catches fire near Cape Canaveral, passengers saved

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Boat catches fire off coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida; 4 rescued

Witness video shows smoke billowing from a 61-foot sailboat that caught fire near Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 28, 2025. (Credit: @lifeunaltered via Storyful)

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First responders rescued four people from a burning boat off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday.

The 61-foot sailboat was about one mile offshore when flames broke out, Canaveral Fire Rescue confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

Witness video taken from nearby Jetty Park Beach shows thick, dark smoke billowing over the ocean. 

The man who took the video told newsgathering website Storyful that the boat “went up real fast” and it “sounded like there were a few explosions.”

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Heavy flames and smoke can be seen from when a 61-foot sailboat caught fire offshore of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 28, 2025.  (Canaveral Fire Rescue)

The four onboard “safely evacuated to another bystander’s boat and were brought in by Brevard County Sheriff’s Office with no injuries,” Canaveral Fire Rescue said. 

Another vessel assisted in putting out the fire, Storyful reported. 

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The sailboat that caught fire offshore of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 28, 2025 appears to be named “Aurora.”  (Canaveral Fire Rescue)

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the United States Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). 

“The fire was unable to be suppressed once the fuel tanks ignited, and the vessel sank after it burned to the waterline,” an FWC statement to Fox News Digital said, adding that a good Samaritan assisted with the boat evacuation. 

Beachgoers walk a short distance from the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at launch pad 39A (top right) near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on April 11, 2019.  (GREGG NEWTON/AFP)

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Cape Canaveral is a hub for U.S. space travel. It is home to the Kennedy Space Center – which hosts launches for NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin – as well as a Space Force military base