Florida boat explosion: 1 dead, 5 injured at historic Fort Lauderdale marina

One person is dead and five others are injured, officials say, after a boat exploded at a historic South Florida marina Monday evening. Witnesses say that a vessel exploded while a boater was fueling up.

Just before 6 p.m., 911 callers reported that a boat at the Lauderdale Marina, in Fort Lauderdale, was engulfed in flames before another caught on fire, according to Frank Guzman, spokesperson for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue. The incident occurred near the 15th Street Fisheries, an iconic eatery popular with tourists and boaters.

The five injured, Guzman said, were taken to area hospitals. Three of them had traumatic injuries. The Broward Sheriff’s Office found the sixth person dead in the water on Monday night.

Witnesses at the 15th Street Fisheries restaurant told the Miami Herald that they saw the boat fueling up before the explosion. They noted that several people were on the boats at the time of the collision.

“I heard a huge explosion, and I looked over and [there was a woman] on the second floor of the boat,” one witness said.

Live camera footage archived by EarthCam shows the moments before the vessel exploded. The video shows a smaller boat behind the vessel, which was engulfed in flames.

Deputy Fire Chief Garrett Pingol told reporters on the scene that the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Pingol, however, confirmed that the boat was near fuel pumps before the explosion. He also added that fire crews were able to control the fuel that spilled onto the water.

The blaze was extinguished by 8 p.m.

The incident, Pingol said, will be investigated by fire rescue in collaboration with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. BSO, Fort Lauderdale police and the U.S. Coast Guard are assisting.