Video Shoot Erupts Into 'Floating Fireball'

'The boat was fully engulfed in flames'

By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 17, 2020 4:00 PM CDT

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A music-video shoot turned to horror Thursday when the boat used a set erupted in flames, People reports. Thirteen were hurt, one critically, when two blasts rocked the 41-foot Wellcraft on the New River in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Twenty-one people were shooting the low-budget video at the time. "Out of nowhere, after just pumping gas maybe five, six minutes before, out of nowhere, it completely exploded," a passenger tells WSVN. On the bright side, at least four witnesses rushed over and helped those in need: "We took four people off the bow of the boat, took them to shore, and then pushed the boat into the bank over there," said witness Bret King at a news conference.

"By the time we got them to the bank, the boat was fully engulfed in flames," he added. "[We] saw some people that needed help. Gotta help people." Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan called it a "challenging" rescue, and said the cause remains under investigation. "Boats are fuel tanks, so there's a lot of concern with the amount of fuel that's on a boat," he said. "Boats aren't tethered to the shoreline, so you now have basically what's a floating fire ball going down the New River." Fire rescue boats put out the flames within about 90 minutes, but the Sun-Sentinel reports that "the vessel was burnt to a crisp."

(More fire stories.)

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