Schoolchildren were among 22 people rescued from a burning ferry after it caught alight in Melbourne's Port Philip Bay. 

Police said the vessel's engine bay caught fire in waters off Queenscliff, a town on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula, at about 8.30am on Thursday. 

A second ferry and a Parks Victoria boat helped rescue 22 people onboard. 

Police then extinguished the ferry and Wildlife welfare brought it back to shore.  

'The exact circumstances surrounding the fire are yet to determined, but the fire is not being treated as suspicious,' police said in a statement. 

No injuries have been reported.  




Scores of schoolchildren have been pulled from a burning boat after it caught alight in Melbourne's Port Philip Bay this morning (pictured)

A caller to radio station 3AW revealed she witnessed more than 20 students being rescued in an emergency operation on the water. 

She told host Tom Elliot the ferry she was travelling on had to be diverted while the rescue was underway. 

'It looks like there's about 30 children who have life jackets,' she said. 

There are two ferry routes in Port Phillip, one between Portarlington and Docklands and another between Melbourne and Geelong. 

It is unclear if either route was interrupted by the marine rescue.