FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Multiple people were hurt after a boat exploded in Fort Lauderdale on Memorial Day.
The explosion happened sometime before 6 p.m. as the boat was anchored at a sandbar.
Rescue crews staged at the Lauderdale Yacht Club, located at 1725 SE 12th St. along the Intracoastal Waterway.
“Just got burned in the boat explosion just now. Tried to fuel up the boat must have been a gas leak and you know, a spark went off, explosion,” a victim, who did not want to give his name, said. “The other people, their legs are ripped up to shreds. The guy’s pants were blown off, so it was bad.”
According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, 11 people were hurt; two of the victims were children.
“When they went to start their boat up, it just exploded,” witness Brett Triano said. “There was a huge fireball and people were kinda falling off the boat.”
Some were badly burned to the point where they were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s burn center in Miami.
“A number of the people transported are level one traumas, which means they are significantly hurt,” FLFR spokesperson Frank Guzman said. “A lot of them had burns to much of their bodies.”
Triano was one of two good Samaritans who helped a burn victim.
“He was saying, ‘Save me. Please don’t let me die. I am so hot. I need water,” Triano said. “He kept repeating, ‘I want water.’”
Multiple law enforcement and fire agencies are investigating the explosion.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the explosion itself did not happen at the marina. It has also been updated to correct the number of victims.