In a coordinated effort recounted by CBS News Boston, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a rescue mission off the New Hampshire coast after the 81-foot fishing trawler "Three Girls" issued a mayday call late Sunday night, stating, "We are on fire. We are going to be abandoning ship." The distress signal, received at 8:56 p.m., prompted Coast Guard Sector Northern New England to deploy a fast response cutter, along with aerial support from an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter.

As retold by Boston.com, despite the dire circumstances faced, all six individuals aboard — four crew members, a captain, and a NOAA observer — safely abandoned the burning vessel, finding refuge on a life raft, having been caught 105 nautical miles east of Portsmouth. They sent out an emergency locator beacon signal to alert the authorities of their position.

According to details from WHDH, the sibling ship of the distressed vessel, the Princess Laura, responded to the emergency alongside the Coast Guard cutter USCGC William Chadwick. Statements obtained by WHDH reveal that by 10:30 p.m., the rescue teams had arrived at the scene, locating the survivors shortly thereafter.

"I couldn’t be prouder of our crew’s swift response in this rescue," Lt. Cmdr. Brent Lane, commanding officer of the USCGC William Chadwick, told Boston.com. The Coast Guard, matching their words with action rescued all six people from the life raft by 11:30 p.m., reporting no major injuries. On Monday morning, they were safely brought to a pier in South Portland, Maine. The origin of the boat fire, as at the heart of the night's harrowing events, continues to remain unspecified by the Coast Guard's account.