Florida Boat Explosion: 11 Reported Hospitalized After Fort Lauderdale Waterway Blast

Eleven people were hospitalized on Monday evening after a boat exploded in the Intracoastal Waterway near 1700 Southeast 12th Street in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the city’s Fire Rescue department told local media.

Newsweek has reached out to Fort Lauderdale Police Department Monday night for comment.

The Context

The blast occurred around 6 p.m. near the New River Triangle sandbar, prompting a large emergency response, according to the Miami Herald.

The sandbar is a popular place for boaters to gather on a holiday weekend, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue spokesperson Frank Guzman told Newsweek on a phone call on Monday. A total of 13 people were aboard the boat at the time.

Guzman said 11 individuals on the boat, including two children, sustained injuries. Two were uninjured. A dog on board was also rescued and is safe.

He said many of the injured victims were burned, with 10 being transferred to a burn unit in Miami.

Guzman said officials are working to identify the cause of the blast.

What To Know

Emergency dispatcher communications reviewed by the Miami Herald describe several people in the water and people suffering burn injuries. The injured children were around 5 years old, a paramedic told dispatchers on scanner audio.

It is unclear what caused the explosion and what the conditions of the injured victims are.

Bret Triano and Marisa Toomsen, who were near the sandbar when the boat exploded, described helping a man in his 30s out of the water. Toomsen said the man was burned “pretty badly.”

“He was saying, ‘Save me, please don’t let me die,'” Triano told the Miami Herald.

They helped the man to shore where he was assisted by the Coast Guard.

What People Are Saying

Josh McCarty, a resident who lives in an apartment near the scene of the explosion, describing one man’s injuries in an interview with the Miami Herald: “He was moving around and talking, but it seemed like he had severe burns on his arms because they had it wrapped in gauze and everything.”

Bret Triano told the Miami Herald: “It was a huge fireball and people were kind of falling off the boat, so we were at the sandbar too, and we just tried to go help out.”

What Happens Next

Guzman told Miami Herald that Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue had a fire investigator on scene. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will conduct a joint investigation.

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Update 5/26/25, 9:05 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional infromation.

Update 5/26/25, 9:40 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Guzman.