1 dead, 5 injured in Fort Lauderdale marina boat fire

FORT LAUDERDALE – A night on the water went horribly wrong as two boats went up in flames at the Lauderdale Marina.

“It was kind of just a big explosion, I felt the vibration through my body,” said Nate Hill.

“I saw the top half of the boat fly up probably ten feet and come right back down,” said Tamer Dimiati.

According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, they received multiple 911 calls about a massive boat fire behind 15th Street Fisheries shortly before 6 p.m.

Investigators said one boat caught on fire and then the fire spread to another boat.

“We do believe the boat was at the fuel docks near the fuel pumps. We’re still determining whether it was actively fueling, that is unknown,” said Deputy Fire Chief Garrett Pingol with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

On Earth Cam video, you can see the moment when the fire started on one boat and quickly spread.

Witnesses tell us chaos quickly ensued as multiple people were seriously hurt.

“I was trying to help that guy who was drowning. I was panicking for him because he was going further and further from the dock,” said Maria Sanz.

“I did see the guy on the boat that was still on the boat while it was on fire and the fire was getting bigger and he was stumbling while he was trying to get off. He was bleeding from his mouth and arm,” said Dimiati.

Five people were taken to the hospital, three of them with traumatic injuries. Rescue crews searched the water for a missing man, but he was found dead hours after the incident.

Officials are still investigating exactly what caused the fire.

The identity of the victims is unknown at this time.

Anna McAllister

Anna McAllister joined the CBS 4 team as a reporter in December 2022 and is ecstatic to be back in South Florida.