12 Injured in Boat Explosion Near Tampa

[Boz]

7 flown from island near Tampa after boat explodes

Others hurt on Beer Can Island in Tampa Bay

By Anika Myers Palm

Sentinel Staff Writer

2:44 PM EDT, May 9, 2009

TAMPA

A boat explosion and fire in Tampa Bay near Apollo Beach has injured several people.

The explosion happened near Beer Can Island earlier today.

Paramedics treated six adults and a child for serious injuries, and all were flown by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital for additional treatment, according to a report from Tampa Fire Rescue.

Five other children were treated for less serious injuries, transported by rescue boat to Williams Park for observation and then to the hospital.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also is investigating.

[wiley]

Any cause yet? Fumes more than likely.

[Boz]

Apparently they haven't pinpointed the cause yet, but they seem to suspect the generator. Here's the latest from the Tampa Tribune:

It's 'as bad as I've ever seen a vessel'

By KEITH MORELLI and HOWARD ALTMAN

kmorelli@tampatrib.com haltman@tampatrib.com

Published: May 10, 2009

Updated: 05/10/2009 12:22 am

TAMPA - Bud Wendel took his family out to the tiny spit of sand that rises out of the swells of Tampa Bay on Saturday afternoon for a day in the sun and swimming.

And he was enjoying the sights and sounds of Pine Key Island, a spot many know as Beer Can Island. There were scores of boaters anchored offshore. People were swimming and sprawled out on the tiny beach.

Then came the boom, "like a cannon going off," said Wendel, a staff sergeant with the Air Force stationed at MacDill Air Force Base.

A 33-foot Sea Ray cabin cruiser had blown up. Seven people, including a child, were seriously injured, officials later would say. Three of them suffered potentially life-threatening injuries.

"Next thing we know," Wendel said, "we see black smoke billowing up from across the island, about 100 yards west of us. It was a huge explosion, the boat just blew up."

Wendel's military training took over. He and his brother-in-law and father-in-law ran across the island to the opposite shore and saw the cabin cruiser, about 100 yards off the shoreline, engulfed in flames.

"That's when you heard the people screaming," he said. "There were still people on the boat after the explosion."

He said witnesses yelled to the survivors still on the burning vessel to jump and swim to shore.

Some swam to shore on their own, while others, more critically injured, had to be pulled in, he said. One man had a compound fracture of his leg.

"It was hanging by a thread," Wendel said. "I was trying to hold the guy's leg together."

One woman pulled ashore had a severely lacerated foot.

The owner of the boat was identified as George Meyers, according to Gary Morse of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Salvage attempt planned for today

The vessel set out Saturday morning from the Apollo Beach area and anchored off the island by midmorning. The explosion was in the aft of the boat, Morse said.

Eleven people were onboard when it blew up. Three were off the boat, wading in water about 30 feet away.

Six children were below deck watching a movie on a television set in the forward part of the vessel, he said. One of those children was seriously injured and remained hospitalized Saturday night.

Salvagers will try to raise the vessel this morning and bring it to the commission's headquarters on Gandy Boulevard, where it will be examined by investigators.

The salvage won't be easy, Morse said, as the vessel appears to have broken up.

"It's in as bad a shape as I've ever seen a vessel after explosion and fire," he said.

Three of the severely hurt suffered potentially life-threatening injuries, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue shift commander Craig Lynn. Five of the seven had "systemic traumatic injuries," he said.

The seriously injured patients were taken by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital. An additional five children had minor injuries and were taken by boat to Williams Park in Gibsonton for evaluation, officials said. Those patients were taken by ambulance to local hospitals.

In all, 13 patients were transported to local hospitals, Lynn said, including a woman on the island who suffered a medical condition after the explosion. She was taken to Brandon Regional Hospital, Lynn said.

A Coast Guard helicopter rescued six people in two separate trips, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Simpson.

"They all had various injuries," he said, "including broken bones and burns."

Medical helicopters from Tampa General assisted with the rescue.

By 9 p.m., six people - five adults and one child - remained hospitalized, officials said.

Boater appeared to be experienced

The people on the boat were extended family, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Maj. Dennis Post at a news conference, and were Hillsborough County residents.

He said that investigators are just beginning their probe into what caused the explosion and while a preliminary report may be completed in a few days, a detailed report with conclusions as to what exactly happened may not be completed for two months.

Post said a generator was in operation at the time, and he speculated that perhaps fumes from that built up in the bilge area. Without proper ventilation, that could result in an explosion.

"We will leave that up to the fire marshals to determine," he said.

The vessel was anchored properly about 100 feet from the shore of Beer Can Island, a popular destination for weekend boaters in Tampa Bay. The size of the boat and the way it was anchored suggested the boater was experienced, Post said.

The vessel was not over its capacity, he said.

"It's not unusual to have that many people on a boat that size," he said. "That was a good vessel. We're not sure if it was a mechanical failure or an operator failure. It's too early to tell."

'These people are lucky to be alive'

Eddy Brown of Valrico was among the hundreds enjoying a day on the water.

"We had just backed in, set the anchors and were just settling down and I looked toward the island," he said. "Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the explosion. I looked and the whole back end of the boat was blown off, kind of like a bomb. People were flying through the air. Parts of the boat were flying through the air. It was kind of like a movie."

Brown said that after the explosion, he saw children on the bow. A lot of boaters had responded to calls for help, he said, and were helping them off the boat.

At the Williams Park boat ramp, about a half-dozen injured people arrived by boat and were taken away by three ambulances. A half-dozen people arrived at Tampa General by helicopter around 1:30 p.m.

Wendel said there were plenty of witnesses on the island who had medical experience, either with the military or otherwise.

"We kept talking to the people," Wendel said, "telling them to stick with us."

"They were in shock," he said. The man with the broken leg kept asking, "'What happened? What happened?'" Wendel said. "These people are lucky to be alive.

"All we could do then was to wait on the medivacs to get there."

Wendel said he often goes boating in the Bay, but has never witnessed a scene like Saturday.

"Only in training," he said. "We practice this in military exercises and the training just kicked in."

[Menzies]

Any cause yet? Fumes more than likely.

I would say an engine compartment spark plus fumes.

[G8RDave]

We arrived just as it happened. Here's a pic I took with my cell phone.

[Menzies]

Other way it could have happened was that he decided to move the boat because he wasn't happy with where he first anchored. Happens to me a lot, you anchor then see where the wind and current take you and don't like the reuslts.

Unfortunately a lot of people tend not to follow the same process they use when they first start the engines at the slip. Sniff, then blowers for at least 4 minutes. Since they only turned the engines off a few minutes ago they don't think there will be a problem. Forgetting of course that the ignition process is the higher risk than just running.

Pray and hope all are well and recover.

[G8RDave]

It definitely wasn't a matter of trying to move the boat. I spoke with some of the family members who were not hurt (the little kids were taken to our side of the island while waiting for transportation). The word I got from the family is that the kids wanted to watch dvd's so they went below. Mom or grandma started the generator to get power. Grandma saw smoke then BOOM! Grandpa almost bled out on the beach in my buddy's arms but they got pressure on the laceration and got an IV started just in time. The family was lucky that there were so many trained medical people that just happened to be hanging out on the island at the time (several paramedics, military medics, RN's, etc).

The thing that amazed me the most was the lack of coordination between the various responders (police, sheriff, Air Force, Coast Guard and civilian rescue units). The Coast Guard was trying to get everyone on the same page but either no one was listening or didn't understand what they were hearing. At one point a Coast Guard Auxillary unit gave the wrong location of the incident to the main Coast Guard center and I had to correct them (I stayed off the vhf as much as possible but figured it was important enough to cut in with the right location).

The Air Force Marine patrol from MacDill AFB was the first offical unit there. But they didn't have their vhf antenna up so the Coast Guard could not hear them well. My boat acted as a relay.

[Menzies]

It definitely wasn't a matter of trying to move the boat. I spoke with some of the family members who were not hurt (the little kids were taken to our side of the island while waiting for transportation). The word I got from the family is that the kids wanted to watch dvd's so they went below. Mom or grandma started the generator to get power. Grandma saw smoke then BOOM! Grandpa almost bled out on the beach in my buddy's arms but they got pressure on the laceration and got an IV started just in time. The family was lucky that there were so many trained medical people that just happened to be hanging out on the island at the time (several paramedics, military medics, RN's, etc).

The thing that amazed me the most was the lack of coordination between the various responders (police, sheriff, Air Force, Coast Guard and civilian rescue units). The Coast Guard was trying to get everyone on the same page but either no one was listening or didn't understand what they were hearing. At one point a Coast Guard Auxillary unit gave the wrong location of the incident to the main Coast Guard center and I had to correct them (I stayed off the vhf as much as possible but figured it was important enough to cut in with the right location).

The Air Force Marine patrol from MacDill AFB was the first offical unit there. But they didn't have their vhf antenna up so the Coast Guard could not hear them well. My boat acted as a relay.

Actually same scenario as moving the boat. The generator is an engine (in a lot of cases a simple 4 stroke Ford). If you have anchored and then decide to start an engine you should go through the blower process again. I wonder how many think "heck I have just been running my big engines, so starting another little one should be OK."

There is a reason why there is a separate generator blower switch on gas boats.

Anyway, all speculation right now, so again, prayers for the families.

[Passman]

Hope they all fair well,

I saw a big ChrisCraft pop when I was about 11 or 12. That has kept me away from inboard gas boats . I know I have turned down some nice rides but once you see a gas boat pop it does something to you.

I saw a guy in a IO yesterday leaving the harbor hatch open messing with his carbs motor blowing smoke all I could think of was flames next.

Prayers for all,

[jlbauza]

This is very sad news indeed. I was last out there late January, nice spot. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.