KEY POINTS:
A couple and their two pet dogs were forced to flee a burning yacht off Maud Island in the outer Marlborough Sounds yesterday.
The couple and their pets were forced to abandon their stricken yacht Celebrity after it burned and sank in 17 metres of water off Southward Point, Maud Island, about 2pm.
They were taken off by a motor launch, the Marlborough Express reported today.
Holidaymaker Rex Brooke-Taylor said it was a spectacular blaze just off the Department of Conservation wharf but there was nothing anybody could do.
"It was very sad for the people involved," he told the Nelson Mail.
Marlborough duty harbourmaster Dave Baker said no one was injured in the fire, which initial reports said was caused by an electrical fire behind the yacht's switchboard.
He said about 400 litres of diesel was aboard the yacht but only a small slick remained after it sank, with the remainder of the fuel burning.
The wreck was not a navigational hazard.
- NZPA
