Marc Anthony’s yacht capsizes after fire breaks out on Watson Island

MIAMI (WSVN) - Fire marshals are investigating after the yacht belonging to Grammy-winning recording artist Marc Anthony caught fire and capsized on Watson Island, according to sources.

The 120-foot long vessel, which was docked off the MacArthur Causeway at the Island Gardens Marina, could be seen with heavy flames and smoke billowing from its upper decks, Wednesday night.

“You can see there was very significant, severe damage that was caused by this fire last night,” Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said.

A total of more than 40 firefighters responded to the scene.

“When we got into the marina, they noticed the amount of fire and the heavy black smoke, realizing this was going to be a significant challenge for fighting with just land crews,” said Carroll.

The rescue teams then sent out boats.

“When crews arrived, they found a lot of flames in this yacht,” Carroll said. “Because of the amount of fire on that ship, we had take more of a defensive attack, so we have our fire boats with Miami-Dade County as well.”

7News cameras captured Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Miami Beach Fire Rescue and City of Miami Fire Rescue crews battling the blaze from their fire boats.

“We know that the boat was docked,” Carroll said. “We know that there’s several other expensive yachts that are right next to it, so the focus was to get as much attention to that boat that was on fire but as well as trying to get some of those additional yachts that were neighboring next to it out of the way so we also had to provide some protection for it as well.”

Anthony was not on board the boat at the time of the fire, but two crew members were and evacuated safely, a source said.

Rescue teams were then tasked with removing the boat from the water.

“The next phase is to get that boat upright, get it dry docked so investigators can conduct their investigation,” Carroll said.

Ata Bayrakrtar, a family member of the marina’s owners, spoke to 7News while firefighters battled the blaze.

“It’s sad, and honestly for us, as the marina and for the boat themselves, firstly, it’s important for people’s lives, but obviously then for the boat and for everyone’s safety, so right now, everything is under control,” he said.

No injuries were reported.

“At this time, we have no reported injuries, but as you can see, it’s still a very active scene,” Carroll said.

The vessel, named Andiamo, has since been ruled a total loss.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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