Eleven people, including two children, were injured after a boat exploded Monday afternoon near a popular sandbar in Fort Lauderdale, officials said.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene, with one man using his dinghy to help pull victims from the water.
Explosion near sandbar sends people flying into water
Frank Guzman, public information officer for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, said the explosion occurred around 5:45 p.m. near 9th Street, where a sandbar draws boaters and beachgoers on holiday weekends. The boat was anchored at the time.
“For reasons that we don’t know yet, a boat exploded,” Guzman said during a Monday afternoon press conference. “It tossed people into the water. Good Samaritans came over right away and started rescuing them.”
Witness describes fireball and desperate pleas for help
Bret Triano was nearby when the explosion happened and quickly sprang into action.
“When they went to start their boat up, it just exploded. There was a huge fireball and people were kind of falling off the boat,” said Triano.
He and others jumped into his dinghy to help. “Once someone was calling 911, we just got in our dinghy and headed over there,” he said.
Triano said he tried to assist a man who was struggling in the water. “He was saying, ‘Save me, please don’t let me die, I’m so hot, I need water.'”
Victim believes fuel leak sparked blast
Antonio Rivera, one of the victims, believes the explosion may have been caused by a gas leak during refueling.
“Burned in the boat explosion just now,” Rivera said. “We tried to fuel up the boat and it must’ve been a gas leak and a spark went off and an explosion. My wife and my kids, they’ll be okay, there’s nothing permanent but they did get third-degree burns.”
11 people, 2 children and dog onboard
According to Guzman, all 11 people injured and transported to the hospital were aboard the boat. Two of the victims are children.
“A dog that was also on board was rescued and is unharmed,” he added.
Burn victims taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital
All patients were initially taken to Broward Health Medical Center. Several with serious burns were later transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital, which has a specialized burn unit.
“We don’t have an exact number on how many patients are going to Jackson,” Guzman said, “but a number of the people were transported as what we call Level 1 traumas. That means they’re significantly hurt.”
Investigation underway
The cause of the explosion has not been confirmed. Fire investigators are on the scene, along with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Fort Lauderdale Police.
“There are no fatalities as far as we know,” Guzman said.
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