Father caught in Fort Lauderdale boat explosion describes ‘terrifying’ blast that burned his children

Thirteen people on board when vessel anchored at Florida sandbar ignited, blowing people into the water and leaving some with severe burns

Investigators examine a boat, dockside with blue cover, whose engine exploded with 13 people on board in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, (CBS News Miami)

A father has described surviving a “terrifying” boat explosion in Fort Lauderdale on Memorial Day that left 11 people, including his two young children suffering from burns.

Antonio Rivera was one of the 13 people on board when the accident happened at approximately 5.45pm on Monday afternoon. He told CBS News that the driver had been attempting to restart the engine after refueling, intending to return the party to shore along the Intracoastal Waterway.

“We tried to fuel up the boat and it must’ve been a gas leak,” Rivera said. “A spark went off and an explosion.”

The strength of the blast threw members of the group into the water and caused a flash fire, according to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue spokesperson Frank Guzman.

Marisa Toomsen and Bret Triano talk to a Fort Lauderdale police after helping rescue those injured in the boat explosion (South Florida Sun Sentinel/AP)

The injured were subsequently rescued by members of the public and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and taken to nearby Broward Health Medical Center for treatment.

Those suffering severe burns were subsequently transferred on to a specialist unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The remaining two boaters and a dog were reportedly unharmed.

Rivera said his wife and children, aged just five and seven, had been wounded but added: “They’ll be okay – there’s nothing permanent – but they did get third-degree burns. It was terrifying.”

Investigators examine a boat, dockside with blue cover, whose engine exploded with 13 people on board in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Monday May 26 2025 (CBS News Miami)

Eyewitness Bret Triano said he had seen the boat engulfed by a fireball and rushed to help, along with several others, by jumping into a dinghy.

“When they went to start their boat up, it just exploded. People were kind of falling off the boat,” he said.

Triano said he found Rivera in the water: “He was saying, ‘Save me, please don’t let me die, I’m so hot, I need water.’”

The vessel had been anchored at a sandbar near the waterway’s New River Triangle, a popular congregating point for boaters on holiday weekends, at the time of the explosion.

The USCG has since posted on social media that a salvage operation is underway and that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is investigating precisely what caused the incident.