Captain and his dog escape boat fire southwest of Ottawa
The captain of a boat safely made it back to shore after his vessel caught fire and sank in the middle of a lake southwest of Ottawa this weekend.
The 60-year-old man was out for a leisurely boat ride with his dog on Saturday when the 30-foot vessel caught fire in the Rideau Ferry area.
"We saw the smoke from the boat launch at the yacht club and just decided to check it out," said Mason Cassell, describing the fire in the middle of the Rideau Lake.
Cassell said he headed out to try to help, but it wasn't safe to approach the burning vessel.
"Pretty scary and we stayed pretty far back because we didn't want to get caught in an explosion of the gas tanks," Cassell said.
Kayla Gilfillen said they saw "lots of black heavy, heavy smoke" in the middle of the lake.
Ontario Provincial Police say the captain and his dog were able to abandon ship and make it back to shore safely.
"He did make efforts to extinguish the fire once he was alerted due to the fire alarm on board," OPP Acting Sgt. Erin Cranton said Sunday. "There was another boat nearby that offered aid in the way of a fire extinguisher to try to put the fire out prior to the fire crew arriving."
The man suffered minor burns in the fire. Cranton said his dog is in good condition.
Zachary Reynolds-Middleton says a bunch of boats crowded around the burning vessel, trying to help.
"We saw them arriving as the boat was sinking."
Charred debris from the boat was washing up on the shore on Sunday, and police say the sunken boat will be recovered from the lake. The Ministry of Environment has been notified of the incident.
"A large amount of that fuel did burn off from the fire," Cranton said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the OPP says there is nothing to indicate the fire is suspicious.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.