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One person died and five others were injured after a boat explosion resulted in a large fire at the Lauderdale Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Monday (December 23) night, CBS News reports.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said it received multiple 911 calls regarding a massive boat fire just prior to 6:00 p.m. local time. One boat exploded and caught fire, which spread to another nearby. Surveillance video captured by EarthCam showed the boat explosion and massive fire.
"We do believe the boat was at the fuel docks near the fuel pumps. We're still determining whether it was actively fueling, that is unknown," said Deputy Fire Chief Garrett Pingol with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.
Maria Sanz, a witness present at the scene told CBS News that she was "trying to help that guy who was drowning" and panicked when she saw "he was going further and further from the dock."
"I did see the guy on the boat that was still on the boat while it was on fire and the fire was getting bigger and he was stumbling while he was trying to get off. He was bleeding from his mouth and arm," said Tamer Dimiati, another witness at the scene.
Five people were hospitalized, included three reported to have suffered traumatic injuries, while rescue crews searched for a missing man who was later pronounced dead hours after the incident. The identities of the victims were not publicly shared as of Tuesday (December 24) morning.