FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Eleven people were rushed to the hospital after a boat exploded in Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue responded to the Lauderdale Yacht Club at the 1700 block of 12th Street on Monday afternoon around 5:45 p.m.
FLFR officials said the explosion occurred on the sandbar east of the yacht club in the intracoastal waterway.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the vessel had 13 people on board.
Fire Rescue said 11 people, including two children, were taken to Broward Health Medical Center. Several have suffered serious injuries and burns.
Ten victims were later transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s burn unit.
As of 10 p.m., eight of them are in good condition. The children, ages 5 and 7, are in fair condition, according to the hospital staff.
Officials said a dog was also rescued from the boat.
“Good Samaritans came over right away and started to rescue them. We transported a total of 11 people to Broward Health Medical Center; two of them were children. We also rescued a dog that was on the boat, and the dog is OK,” said FLFR spokesperson Frank Guzman.
7News cameras captured a large fire rescue and police response to the yacht club and surrounding areas.
Video, obtained by 7News, shows a distant flash and flames engulfing the back of the boat. People can be seen jumping into the water seconds after.
Witness Christopher Blackwood, who was fishing nearby, said he heard a loud sound.
“I heard a loud explosion. When I looked at the boat, I saw the gas vapor go into the air. I saw people jump into the water,” he said. “Something inside exploded. You just have to be safe; you have got to know what you’re doing.”
He said the boat, left largely intact despite the flames, simply floated away following the incident.
Brett Triano and Marissa Toomsen became good Samaritan heroes when they saw what unfolded.
“This boat, trying to leave the sandbar when they went to start their boat up, it exploded,” said Triano. “Huge fireball, and people were falling off the boat.”
Their relaxing holiday on the water turned to a rescue operation in an instant.
“Once someone started calling 911, we just got into our dinghy and headed over there,” said Triano.
They hopped on their dinghy and went to look for victims.
“We were trying to look for who we could help and find someone in the water,” said Triano.
Quickly, they spotted and pulled a 36-year-old man who was in bad shape.
“He was screaming,” said Triano. “He was saying, ‘Save me, please don’t let me die, I’m so hot, I need water.’
“He was burned; his skin was kind of, he was burned pretty badly,” said Toomsen.
The pair rushed the man to Fort Lauderdale’s 15th Street Fisheries, where professional help arrived and tended to his wounds.
The man’s father spoke to 7News off camera, saying his son was placed on a respirator after being transported to the hospital with severe burns. He believes it was his son who was rescued by the good Samaritans and is extremely grateful.
Antonio Rivera, another victim who did not want to show his face on camera, told 7News he was burned and bandaged but was able to be released from the hospital on Monday night.
“I just got burned in the boat explosion just now,” he said. “We tried to fuel up the boat; it must have leaked gas, and, you know, it sparked. Went off and exploded.”
Rivera’s family was among those transported to Jackson from Fort Lauderdale.
“My wife and my kids, they’ll be OK. There’s nothing permanent, but they did get third-degree burns,” he said.
Late Monday night, the boat could be seen against a dock as investigators tried to figure out what sparked the explosion.
“It’s too soon to know how this happened. We have a fire investigator on the scene as well, and once we know more, we can share that,” said Guzman.
Investigators were seen on and off the boat Tuesday morning, removing what appeared to be the personal belongings of those on board, as well as a propane barbecue. They combed through the docked boat, where an engine hatch on the boat appeared to be open.
The identities of the victims remain unclear.
The boat in question was seen intact pending the investigation.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are investigating.
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