11 people hospitalized after boat explosion in Fort Lauderdale: What we know
Eleven people, including two children, were hospitalized after a boat explosion caused a fire in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Memorial Day.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who is leading the investigation, confirmed to Paste BN in an emailed statement Tuesday that officers responded to reports of a single-vessel boating incident in Broward County around 6 p.m. Monday.
"Preliminary information indicates that a 39-foot Sea Ray with 15 people on board was traveling within the Intercoastal Waterway when an explosion occurred," a spokesperson for FWC said in the statement. "Eleven individuals were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment."
The spokesperson said the incident is currently being investigated and no further information is available at this time, however a full report will be available after the investigation is complete.
"For reasons that we don't know yet, a boat exploded," said Frank Guzman, a spokesperson for the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, at a news conference Monday. "It tossed people into the water and Good Samaritans came over right away and started rescuing them."
'Number of patients had significant burns'
Guzman said the department transported a total of 11 people, including two children to Broward Health Medical Center. Guzman also said they rescued a dog who was on board the boat, but the dog was not injured.
Guzman said a "number of the patients had significant burns" and were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, which has a burn unit. He said he didn't have an exact number on how many of the patients were transferred to Jackson Memorial.
Other Memorial Day incidents across the US
This boat explosion in Florida is just one of many tragic accidents that happened over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. A shooting in Philadelphia in Fairmount Park left two people dead and nine others injured. In Ohio, a child was killed after falling off a float during a Memorial Day parade. Additionally, a shooting near a boat deck in South Carolina left 11 people injured.
This story was updated with new information.
Contributing: Melina Khan, Paste BN; Anthony Robledo, Paste BN; Patrick Williams, Akron Beacon Journal; John Bacon, Paste BN
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at Paste BN. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.