BISCAYNE BAY, Fla. (WSVN) – A boat went up in flames in Pelican Harbor in Northeast Miami-Dade, sending a large plume of smoke in the air, Wednesday.
Smoke could be seen far in the distance from where the fire was taking place.
Cellphone video shot from a nearby apartment showed the 30-foot catamaran in flames near the Pelican Harbor Marina.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue rushed to extinguish the flames, spraying the boat with water from several angles. The entire ordeal was seen by Philip Gonzalez, who was fishing nearby.
“I’m screaming, ‘Yo, what’s wrong? There’s a big pile of smoke,'” said the boy, “and then me and him start screaming at the people from the inside to get on the boat to go help the people out over there because the fire was small, and then all of a sudden, it just exploded and got super big.”
Firefighters managed to put out the blaze. However, the boat was completely destroyed.
There were other vessels nearby that were very close to the burning boat.
“This boat may have just been anchored here sometime yesterday,” said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll. “Our biggest concern is who’s on the boat, what kind of items are on the boat.”
It is still not clear if there was anyone on board the vessel. However, divers are searching the area for any victims as a precaution.
“I was worried to think if there was any people inside,” Gonzalez said. “I was telling him to cover over and check what happened to see if there was anyone under the water, under the boats or anything.”
It appears that no one was onboard.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has taken over the investigation and is currently trying to find the owner of the boat.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown.
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