Ex-Tennessee mayor, crew rescued from fiery boat near Norway

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, had to be rescued by helicopter off the Norwegian Sea due to a sailboat fire.

The Tennessean reports that former Mayor Karl Dean and other prominent Nashville residents were rescued on Sunday after waking up to large amounts of smoke from below deck. The group was set to sail around the Svalbard Islands.

Dean, who most recently unsuccessfully ran for governor in the 2018 election, told the newspaper that crew members instructed him and others to put on survival suits and evacuated using life rafts.

Dean says two Norwegian government helicopters were used to lift the crew and passengers out of the water and into safety. No one in the group suffered injuries. It’s unclear what caused the fire.