Six crew members from a fishing boat that caught fire off the coast of Newfoundland were rescued from the icy North Atlantic ocean and taken to hospital Wednesday afternoon.

A coast guard spokesperson said the six men on board issued a garbled mayday at about 12:30 p.m. Atlantic time, and a fixed-wing Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, N.S. and a Cormorant helicopter out of Gander were dispatched to the scene immediately.

The Cormorant, first to arrive on the scene, discovered the men in the water. They were forced to evacuate the 18-metre Nautical Legacy after it had caught fire.

"We were on scene overhead the boat within an hour of receiving the call and found six personnel in the water, at which point we hoisted them out of the water and proceeded back to St. John's. Successful results all around," Capt. Chris Herten of the Search and Rescue Squadron, in charge of the cormorant helicopter that plucked the men from the water, told NTV News.

Five of the six men were able to don survival suits before entering the water. Rescue crews surrounded the young man who wasn't wearing an immersion suit, and got him out first.

"Two of the men were hypothermic," search and rescue technician Sgt. Dave Payne told NTV News. "They were very cold, but we got there in time." All six men are expected to make a full recovery.

It's believed the men are from the Clarke's Beach area. NTV News reports the Nautical Legacy had burnt to the water line and is expected to sink shortly. There is no word at this time as to the cause of the fire.

With a report from NTV News