MIAMI (WSVN) - One day after a boat explosion in the waterway sent nearly a dozen people to the hospital, new information is coming out on what sparked trouble on the water.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said Tuesday that fuel vapor igniting caused the explosion on the Intracoastal waters of Fort Lauderdale, Monday afternoon.
Video, shared with 7News, captures the back of the boat erupting in flames and people aboard jumping into the water.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and tried to get as close as they could.
Officials said the flames put itself out and they aren’t sure what caused the fuel vapors to ignite.
Eleven people, including two children, were rushed to the hospital, with some in serious condition.
“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 board the boat, and the dog is OK,” said FLFR spokesperson Frank Guzman.
From there, they were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital Miami Burn Center to be treated for their wounds.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 10 people remain hospitalized.
Hospital officials said two adults and two children are in critical condition, four others are in serious condition and two are in good condition.
Antonio Rivera was discharged from the hospital Monday night with a burned and bandaged arm.
“I just got burned in the boat explosion just now. We tried to fuel up the boat; it must have leaked gas, and, you know, it sparked. Went off and exploded,” Rivera told 7News on Monday.
He provided details on how the situation unfolded.
“It tossed people into the water, good Samaritans came over right away and started rescuing them… “
He said his two children, ages 5 and 7, and wife remain hospitalized.
“My wife and my kids, they’ll be OK. There’s nothing permanent, but they did get third-degree burns,” said Rivera.
One of those good Samaritans is Brett Triano, whose relaxing day on the water turned into a rescue mission when he witnessed the explosion.
“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.”
He hopped on his dinghy and went to look for victims. Quickly, they spotted and pulled a 36-year-old man who was in bad shape.
“He was saying, ‘Save me, please don’t let me die, I’m so hot, I need water.’” said Triano.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was seen boarding the 39-foot vessel and removing personal items from it on Tuesday.
The vessel has since been towed away.
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