Eight rescued from motorboat that caught fire at Hartland pond

Eight people were rescued Wednesday afternoon after a motorboat they were in caught fire on Morrill Pond in Hartland. (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife photo)

Eight people were rescued Wednesday afternoon after a motorboat they were in caught fire on Morrill Pond in Hartland.

Game Warden Cpl. John MacDonald of the Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said all eight people escaped without injury just before 3 p.m.

The boat’s owner, Christopher Gibson, 43, from Acworth, Georgia, told game wardens he had five passengers in the 18-foot 1997 Rinker motorboat — all under the age of 16. Gibson was also towing his son and his son’s friend on a tube behind the boat when the fire began, according to MacDonald.

The charred remains of a motorboat sits on the shore of Morrill Pond in Hartland after a fire destroyed it on Wednesday. (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife photo)

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but it appears to have started from within the engine compartment, MacDonald said in a news release.

Members of Hartland Fire Department as well as boaters on the water assisted in getting all eight people safely to shore before game wardens arrived at the scene. There were five separate calls to the Regional Communications Center in Skowhegan reporting the fire.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

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Twitter:@Doug_Harlow