May 9 (UPI) — Multiple injuries were reported Saturday in what rescuers called a “mass casualty” event involving a possible boat explosion at a popular Miami sandbar.<\/p>\n
First responders to the scene of a possible boat explosion at around 12:45 p.m. “found multiple patients with various injuries, some burned, some minor injuries,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Juan Arias told reporters<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n “All patients were treated and transported to local hospitals,” he said, adding that the incident was designated as a “level 2 mass casualty incident, which gives us the sufficient amount of units on scene to go ahead and deal with the number of patients that we had.”<\/p>\n Arias said the injuries were from burns and that some victims suffered “traumatic” injuries.\n<\/p>\n The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission personnel also responded to the scene at Haulover Sandbar, a favorite party cruise spot for tourists located in Biscayne Bay north of Bal Harbour, Fla.<\/p>\n Arias did not specify how many people were injured in the incident, but multiple<\/a> media reports<\/a> quoted rescuers as saying 11 people were taken to area hospitals.\n<\/p>\n Witnesses said the injuries were caused by an explosion aboard a boat which knocked several people overboard and left them with burns.<\/p>\n