Passengers rescued as boat catches fire close to Cape Canaveral.

First responders rescued four people from a burning boat off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday.

The 61-foot sailboat was about one mile offshore when flames broke out, Canaveral Fire Rescue confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

Witness video taken from nearby Jetty Park Beach shows thick, dark smoke billowing over the ocean. 

The man who took the video told newsgathering website Storyful that the boat “went up real fast” and it “sounded like there were a few explosions.”

The sailboat that caught fire offshore of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 28, 2025 appears to be named “Aurora.”  (Canaveral Fire Rescue)

Beachgoers walk a short distance from the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at launch pad 39A (top right) near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on April 11, 2019.  (GREGG NEWTON/AFP)

Cape Canaveral is a hub for U.S. space travel. It is home to the Kennedy Space Center – which hosts launches for NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin – as well as a Space Force military base