Boat explodes at Florida marina, as four people are hurt with one woman rushed to hospital

Surveillance video shows the moment a boat exploded and burst into flames at a Florida marina on Sunday. 

The footage, shared by the Daytona Beach Fire Department, shows the boat at Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona Beach with multiple people on board and one person standing on the dock. 

Suddenly the back half of the boat explodes, sending debris flying. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, and the boat, called Jumper, sank. 

According to the fire department, the explosion occurred shortly after refueling and turning the engine on. The boat’s owner later told officials that the vessel’s blowers were on, which helps remove any gasoline vapors in the engine room.

These vapors caught fire as soon as the boat was jumpstarted, causing the explosion.  An investigation into what exactly happened is ongoing as the incident’s official cause has not yet been released.

Four people were injured, one of whom was airlifted to an Orlando hospital. The injured victim is believed to be a woman in her 50s, suffering from severe burns.

A motor boat in Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona Beach, Florida, exploded at around 1pm on Sunday, injuring four people, including one woman who was airlifted to a hospital in Orlando for severe burns

The explosion happened while the vessel was being refueled. The boat’s owner told officials the watercraft’s blowers were on, which helps remove any gasoline vapors in the engine room

The three other people in the incident were treated on site after declining to be taken to hospital, according to the Daytona Beach Fire Department.

Local boater Vincent Kraus was setting sail from the marina at around 1pm on Sunday when he witnessed the boat’s explosion.

‘We were on our way to help them to make sure everything was OK, but it was rescued there before,’ he told WKMG.

The boat was hauled out of the marina, despite 85 percent of it sinking after the blaze.

‘I could see the bow tail and part of the back,’ Laurie Brennan, who witnessed the incident from the marina, also told the local news outlet. ‘It was a very large vessel.’ 

‘It’s sad to see more than anything,’ Ilene Jones, another boater, said. ‘Somebody definitely had a bad day.’ 

Daytona Beach Fire Department told DailyMail.com that 85 percent of the boat was under water after the blaze, before it was towed away

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Daytona Fire Beach Department to inquire about the injured woman. 

One of the most common causes for boats to explode is improper ventilation while refueling or failure of the blower system before engine reignition, according to Kansas-based law firm Presley & Presley, which specializes in catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths. 

It is deemed crucial to start ventilation before turning on motor boats due to fuel vapors often being located in the engine compartment. 

Ventilation brings fresh air and removes fumes from a boat’s bilge, or else static electricity can start a blaze and cause the boat to explode.   

An estimated 250 boat explosions happen in the United States each year, according to The Doan law firm.

A spokesperson with the Daytona Beach Fire Department told DailyMail.com that boats catching fire happens once a year on average in the area and to ‘just get away’ when one takes place.

TMX contributed to this story.