A fiery explosion at a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, marina on Monday left one person dead and five others injured. According to reports, the blast occurred around 6:00 p.m. on December 23, when the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue (FLFR) received an influx of calls about a boat that had exploded and subsequently caught fire.
“Just before 6:00 PM on December 23rd, we received multiple 911 calls reporting a boat explosion and fire at the Lauderdale Marina. A number of people were injured and one was missing. This is the point of view of Engine 8’s Captain Mark Rossi. His crew was first to arrive and size-up the scene,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue wrote in a Facebook post.
In another statement shared to X, the FLFR wrote, “FLFR extinguishing two fires after a boat exploded at the Lauderdale Marina. A total of six people injured. We transported five to area hospitals, three with traumatic injuries. The sixth was missing in the water and located by BSO after a lengthy search, deceased unfortunately.”
“It was like a boom, kind of, and I turned around and the whole dock was already on fire,” one witness of the incident explained to local TV station WSVN. “It was engulfed in flames.” Another person explained to the outlet, “I was screaming, screaming, and then they told us we have to get out right away. I was trying to focus to see where my family was.”
Reportedly, first responders found the initial vessel that had exploded on fire, which had spread to another boat nearby. “All I saw was the boat just exploded and the top of the boat went up, and it came back down and the boat went into flames. I ran out there to try to see if anybody needed help…. I mean it was like chaos,” another person said.
Speculating as to what might have caused the explosion, one person commented on X, “Looks like it might be a gasoline powered boat. If they just filled up and started the engines without turning on the blowers to vent out the engine room, the fumes from the refill might have been ignited when they started up the engines.”
“This is from a fuel leak and failure to run the blowers long enough b4 starting the engines or generator. That’s my professional opinion as a marine mechanic and electrician, posting from my own 32′ boat. Vapor completely filled the cabin, blowing the forward deck off the hull,” another person said echoing this sentiment.
“What a horrific accident, so sad! I was just out to dinner yesterday, sat outside on a dock and a pontoon boat nearby was filling gasoline tanks…we were annoyed by the smell. Then I saw this on the news later at home,” another local commented.
Watch the boat accident below:
Note: The featured image is a screen shot from the embedded video.
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