An EarthCam video captures people rushing up and down the dock at Fort Lauderdale as a boat fire intensifies, sending thick black smoke into the air.
A boat explosion at a marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Monday left one person dead and five others hospitalized, according to officials.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue received multiple 911 calls about an explosion aboard a vessel at Lauderdale Marina shortly before 6 p.m. Upon arrival, they found one boat engulfed in flames, which had quickly spread to a second vessel.
Five individuals were taken to nearby hospitals, with three suffering from traumatic injuries, officials reported. Divers searched the water for a person reported missing after the explosion. The Broward Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that the missing person had been found deceased.
The explosion was recorded on an EarthCam feed at the marina, showing the moment of the blast and over three minutes of the aftermath. The footage depicts people running along the dock as the fire grows and thick black smoke fills the sky.
Maria Sanz told NBC News South Florida that she and her family were on a boat directly behind the one that exploded.
“At first, I thought it was a firecracker, but when I turned around, I saw it was a boat… there was a lot of smoke,” she said. “I started screaming, and they told us we had to leave immediately.”
Despite the urgency to evacuate, Sanz said her family tried to help rescue people from the water as the fire spread to their own boat.
“My cousin was kneeling at the front of the boat, holding on to a girl who was struggling in the water,” she explained. “The girl was nearly drowning, and my cousin was trying to keep her head above water.”
Sanz described seeing another victim in distress in the water and rushing to help.
“I saw a man struggling to stay afloat,” she said. “I got off the boat, ran to the dock, and started throwing a rope while yelling for help.”
Meanwhile, her own boat began catching fire.
“The flames were coming towards us, and the front and side of our boat started burning as we were still trying to pull people from the water,” Sanz recalled.
Multiple agencies, including the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Coast Guard, are working together to investigate the cause of the explosion. Fire officials noted that once the boats are removed from the water and thoroughly examined, they will have a clearer understanding of what led to the incident.
