Fire rescue takes 11 to hospitals after charter boat explosion near Haulover Sandbar

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel took 11 injured to several hospitals after a boat explosion on Saturday afternoon near the Haulover Sandbar.

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A boat captain who identified as Leo said a boat exploded during startup, likely because of a gas leak, and it was the “scariest moment” of his life.

“When we looked back out, we saw three people flying off the boat and a puff of smoke,” said Patrick Lee, a witness who added he saw victims who were “very badly burned” in stretchers.

Anthony Torres said his wife, Adriana Rojas, who was among the 11 injured during a Mother’s Day weekend celebration, called him after the explosion.

“She was screaming, ‘Help me! Help me! I’m burned! The boat blew up! Help me! Help me!’”

More than 25 M-DFR units, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, and the U.S. Coast Guard responded shortly before 12:50 p.m.

“Injuries were from burn injuries, some were traumatic injuries as well,” M-DFR Battalion Chief Juan Arias said.

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Torres was at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where Rojas was hospitalized.

“She has got second-degree burns all throughout her legs, her buttocks, her chest, her left arm, and the left side of her body,” Torres said.

The cause of the explosion remained under investigation on Saturday afternoon, according to Melissa Brevik, a spokeswoman for the FWC.

“Preliminary information indicates a charter vessel carrying several passengers was in Biscayne Bay, near the Haulover Sandbar, when an explosion occurred on board,” Brevik wrote in a statement. “Passengers aboard the vessel were injured.”

Local 10 News Assignment Editors Sofia Mendez and Mariana Ortiz contributed to this report.

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