Passengers rescued from boat fire off Rockaway Beach, officials say

Passengers were rescued by good Samaritans from a 45-foot-boat that caught fire off Rockaway Beach on Sunday, according to U.S. Coast Guard and FDNY officials.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the agency received a call at about 4:30 p.m. reporting smoke emanating from a boat

When Coast Guard rescuers arrived, the passengers had already been scooped up by another nearby boat, the spokeswoman said.

Officials with both agencies said they did not know how many passengers were rescued in total, but said no one was injured.

Two FDNY marine vessels were deployed to the area at about 5 p.m. and snuffed out the fire soon after that, a spokesman said.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.