Boat explodes at Tarpon Point

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- A boat exploded Saturday at Tarpon Point. Black smoke billowed into the air along with flames and debris.

Just moments before, a fuel dock attendant said it was business as usual.

“We had just finished fueling up a 32 foot fountain boat. There was another boat that pulled up behind them, so, I turned around to assist the second boat.”

That’s when the boat blew up, sending six people to the hospital. Shrapnel flew 60 feet up in the air.

“As our fire engines were responding, they could see a column of smoke so at that point we began upgrading the call,” said Battalion Chief Christopher Moore.

Moore says getting the fire under control was difficult due to the boat being made out of fiberglass, a material that burns extremely hot. He also says boats contain a lot of fuel so the potential to catch on fire increases in situations such as these.

The man who fueled the boat that exploded said he felt this one could have been way worse.

“Fortunately the explosion went straight up, all the shrapnel went up rather than flying out to the side or it would have been a lot worse and we would have had a lot more injuries, a lot more damage done.”