Four hospitalized after boat catches fire off Long Beach

Four people were hospitalized after escaping a boat fire that erupted off the Long Beach coast Friday evening, authorities said.

At 7:11 p.m., Long Beach Fire Department officials received a call about the fire on a 30-foot boat about 100 feet from the shore between the Queen Mary and the Hotel Maya, said department spokesman Jake Heflin.

Units arrived at the scene by 7:15 p.m., Heflin said, and found seven people floating on a dinghy away from the main boat. The fire was extinguished, he said, and the dinghy was towed to an isolation dock in Alamitos Bay.

Two individuals suffered injuries that required “immediate” attention while the other five had less significant wounds, Heflin said. He said three declined to be taken to a hospital.

Heflin said it was unclear what kind of injuries the victims sustained or what caused the fire.

The boat fire did not damage any other structures or craft in the area, he said.