A Coast Guard helicopter rescued three people from a burning shrimp boat in the Gulf of Mexico today after the men radioed for help, officials said. Chief Petty Officer Mark Kennedy of Coast Guard Air Station-Ellington said the helicopter was dispatched to the 70-foot commercial shrimper, Master Warren, shortly after 3 a.m. when the three notified authorities that the vessel was ablaze some 13 miles southwest of Galveston. The boat was about five miles from shore, he said. ``They found the vessel fully engulfed in flames and the three people standing as far back as possible,'' Kennedy said. ``They seemed to be suffering from smoke inhalation, so after they were hoisted off the vessel they were taken to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston.'' Doctors there found the men in good condition and they were not admitted, Kennedy said. The owner and operator of the Master Warren, which is based in Port Arthur, was identified as Banh Prinh, and the two crew members were identified as Bob and Pan Nguyen, Kennedy said. Coast Guard crews continued to battle the fire aboard the shrimper this morning. ``Just about the time that the helicopter crew was hoisting the people, a patrol boat from the Coast Guard base in Galveston arrived at the scene and began fighting the fire,'' Kennedy said, adding that another boat was expected to arrive later and tow the shrimper to shore.
