Westhampton

NORTHAMPTON — Firefighters tended to a houseboat that apparently capsized and leaked an undetermined amount of gasoline into the waters of the Oxbow Marina Sunday evening.

Northampton Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Vanasse said a caller reported seeing the boat overturned at the marina about 7:10 p.m. The caller was reportedly traveling on I-91 and spotted the boat from there.

The boat was unoccupied and had been stored at the marina for some time, Vanasse said.

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Five firefighters deployed absorbent tubes from one of the marina’s docks to recover the spilled fuel, Vanasse said.

Vanasse said there wasn’t any way to tell if the leaked fuel came from the boat’s own fuel tank or from extra fuel stores on board, only that there was a “very strong smell” of gasoline in the area.

Vanasse said the department was unable to reach the owners of the boat Sunday night. The incident remains under investigation.

Bob Dunn can be reached at bdunn@gazettenet.com.