A man said his wife called him after the explosion, screaming, "Help me! I’m burned!"
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Haulover-Sandbar-boat-explosion-051026-92d23b60b47346e2b663c0ccacb541f9.jpg "Fire rescue takes 11 to hospitals after charter boat explosion near Haulover Sandbar")
Credit: ABC Miami
NEED TO KNOW
- At least 15 people were injured due to a potential boat explosion in Florida
- The incident, which left 11 people hospitalized, took place near Haulover Sandbar in Miami on May 9
- Witness and boat charter Patrick Lee said, “We saw three people fly out of the boat”
More than a dozen people were hurt due to a possible boat explosion in Miami.
Fifteen people total were injured during the incident near Haulover Sandbar on Saturday, May 9. Eleven were taken to the hospital, WSVN 7 News reported.
The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR) responded to the report of a possible boat explosion around 12:45 p.m. local time, per CBS News. The Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) also reported to the scene.
Multiple people suffered various injuries, including burns, MDFR Battalion Chief Juan Arias said, per CBS News.
Credit: Getty
The conditions of the 11 people transported to the local hospital have not been publicly shared. The MDFR classified the incident as a Level 2 Mass Casualty Incident, according to CBS News.
The cause of the possible explosion and fire is currently under investigation, authorities said.
PEOPLE reached out to the MDFR and the FWC for comment on Sunday, May 10, but didn’t immediately hear back.
Witness and boat charter Patrick Lee recalled the incident while speaking with CBS News. "We saw three people fly out of the boat," he said.
“This guy got in a hurry, and his people got on board, and he turned the key, and didn't open the hatches, didn't turn on the blowers, and he blew people out the boat,” Lee then claimed.
The man said the boat was up in flames within minutes.
Credit: Getty
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The Miami Herald identified the boat as a Press Cruiser 400 Express — a 40-foot cabin cruiser. The outlet, citing the U.S. Coast Guard database, reported that the boat was certified for recreational use.
The vessel was towed away around 6 p.m. local time, per WSVN 7 News.
Anthony Torres told WPLG Local 10 that his wife, Adriana Rojas, was on the boat during the explosion and called him afterwards.
“She was screaming, ‘Help me! Help me! I’m burned! The boat blew up! Help me! Help me,” he recalled to the outlet.
Rojas was hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center after the incident. “She has got second-degree burns all throughout her legs, her buttocks, her chest, her left arm, and the left side of her body," Torres said.