The Coast Guard rescued an injured family of three from an island near Cape Cod after they were burned in a fire on their boat and stranded for about 30 hours.
Cynthia Sullivan, 73, is in critical condition for burns; her husband Patrick, 72, is being treated in a burn unit and their son Tyler, 37, also is being treated for third-degree burns, according to another son, Christopher Sullivan.
“My brother is still processing everything. He saved my parents’ lives,” Christopher Sullivan told WCVB-TV.
The 30-foot boat Third Wave had left Falmouth, Massachusetts, Friday, with the Sullivan family planning to anchor between Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard for the weekend before returning Tuesday.
But on Monday night, the three woke up to a fire on the boat, jumped overboard and swam to Naushon Island where they sheltered in a barn, the Coast Guard said.
A concerned family member reported them missing and overdue Tuesday. Searchers were unable to find the boat, and cell phone calls to the boat did not go through, but Tyler Sullivan eventually found the boat’s radio and subsequently called for help.
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard found the three on Naushon Island, which sits across a small strait from Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The Coast Guard airlifted the family of three for treatment.
The Coast Guard said the boat could have caught fire due to an electrical issue, according to the New York Times.
