Eight injured after huge explosion on tourist boat in Costa Del Sol resort
EIGHT people have been injured in a terrifying explosion when a tourist boat caught fire at a Costa del Sol resort.
Of the eight people who have been reported injured, three of the victims were rushed to hospital after sustaining “serious wounds”.
The boat blew up as it was leaving the marina in Fuengirola.
Video footage shows the smoke billowing from the motorboat as it was attempting to leave the local marina.
Firefighters can be seen dousing the flames engulfing the boat and marina with hoses from the closest point on dry land.
Locals on jet skis and other boats rushed to the aid of the trapped passengers and tried to help put out the blaze.
It is not clear if any Brits were aboard or amongst those hurt.
he alarm was raised at 12.20pm on Saturday, when several witnesses reported seeing a black plume of smoke rising into the air.
The inferno was clearly visible from nearby beaches.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown.
A fisherman told local media: “It was an open boat made of polyester, which is a very bad combination with fuel because it burns very quickly”.
The boat sank as a result of the fire on board.
The area where it submerged has been sealed off by local emergency services in order for an investigation to be completed.
A spokesperson from Fuengirola Town Hall said: “The Rescue and Lifesaving Service, the Fire Department and the Local Police Force… as well as the Civil Guard, responded today to a fire on a boat sailing in the marina, near the mouth of the harbour”.
“For reasons which are still unclear there was an explosion and the boat caught fire,” they said.
“Within minutes, rescue workers from the Rescue Service reached the crew and brought them to safety.”
The spokesperson said a total of eight people had been on board the boat at the time of the explosion.
“All of them were injured, three of them seriously, and they were placed in the care of emergency medical responders,” the spokesperson continued.
“Officials from the Andalusian Ports Agency are closely monitoring the situation to assess the need for anti-spill measures.”
The blaze comes just one year after four Brits were rescued from a luxury yacht explosion off the island of Menorca.
Pictures show the inferno torching the 40ft boat after the fire started in the engine room.
Dramatic footage showed coastguards who went to the rescue trying to put out the fire with high-pressure water jets as a huge plume of black smoke rose into the air near the island’s capital Mahon.
Emergency responders had initially planned to tow the 40ft boat to port so firefighters could tackle the blaze with more powerful hoses.
Coastguards eventually decided to take it further out to sea to minimise the risk of explosion before it sank.
The four Brits on board had already been rescued and taken ashore on a boat belonging to a sailing club based at Mahon Port.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
