{"id":267707,"date":"2026-05-12T07:26:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/267707\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T07:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:26:24","slug":"miami-boat-explosion-near-haulover-sandbar-injures-11-in-mass-casualty-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/267707\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami boat explosion near Haulover Sandbar injures 11 in mass-casualty incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Devoun Cetoute and Milena Malaver
Miami Herald<\/p>\n

MIAMI \u2014 Patrick Lee, a seasoned South Florida boat captain, was manning his Tiki boat shuttling people to a vessel on the waters near the Haulover Sandbar near Bal Harbour on Saturday afternoon, when he suddenly saw a throng of people blasted off a nearby, 40-foot boat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we looked back out, we saw three people flying off the boat in a puff of smoke,\u201d he said, noting some of the injured people had burns all over them.<\/p>\n

| WATCH: Blast injuries: 4 types EMS providers need to know<\/a><\/p>\n

The possible explosion around 12:50 p.m. at the sandbar sent 11 people to the hospital and had Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission working what fire crews dubbed a \u201cmass casualty incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over 25 Miami-Dade fire crews aided in rescuing the injured, finding some of the 11 in the water. The agency initially reported there were 15 patients but retracted that figure. Some of the injured were burned and suffered traumatic injuries.<\/p>\n

Authorities could not confirm if an explosion occurred. The boat was docked near the Haulover Marine Center a few hours after the explosion. It is a Press Cruiser 400 Express, a 40-foot cabin cruiser called Nauti Nabors from Sherman, Texas. According to U.S. Coast Guard databases, the vessel is certified for recreational use.<\/p>\n

Initially, a single fire rescue boat crew rushed to respond to a burn injury near the Haulover Sandbar \u2014 they quickly realized the scope of the tragedy and radioed for back-up, according to dispatch audio on Broadcastify.com<\/a>. Dozens of crews, including high-ranking firefighters, descended on Haulover Park within the hour.<\/p>\n

Burn victims were found, some were in the water. Crews rescued them into lifeboats and sped to the nearby fuel docks to be taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n

When a dispatcher tried to pinpoint how many patients were injured, a firefighter responded, \u201cThey keep coming. … We just aren\u2019t sure right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the patients were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital\u2019s Ryder Trauma Center, which houses the Miami Burn Center, according to the audio. At least one pediatric patient was among the injured. One adult had more than 30% of his body burned, and a child had more than 18%.<\/p>\n

Leo, who declined to give his last name and was not injured, was on board the boat when he said it exploded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the worst experience of my life,\u201d Leo said as he sat down under the shade of a tree near the Haulover Marine Center.<\/p>\n

He said a gas leak caused the explosion.<\/p>\n

Fire crews on dispatch audio logs said the explosion possibly came from the boat\u2019s fuel tank. The captain of the vessel was unharmed.<\/p>\n

Lee, the Tiki boat captain, theorized that the exhaust fans were not turned on, causing gas fumes to be trapped on board. When the boat was clicked on, it sparked an explosion, he speculated. Lee made this claim based on what he witnessed and his more than 50 years of boating experience.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The captain\u2019s) people got on board, he turned the key, didn\u2019t open the hatches, and didn\u2019t turn on the blowers \u2014 he blew people out of the boat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fire rescue issued a reminder to the public hours after the possible explosion to \u201cprioritize safety while out on the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure your vessel is equipped with a working fire extinguisher and all required safety equipment,\u201d fire rescue said. \u201cBefore departure, perform a thorough safety check to ensure your boat is in good working condition and free of potential hazards. Taking a few extra precautions can help prevent emergencies and keep everyone safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee was saddened at how preventable the tragedy was, if it indeed was a gas-related explosion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the worst thing, preventable,\u201d he said. \u201cI find most tragedies are from a lack of education. Many people out here shouldn\u2019t be operating boats.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Atlanta<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n From a hoax school shooting to Boston Marathon planning, real-world incidents show how relationships and pre-event coordination determine outcomes\n <\/p>\n

January 23, 2026 10:27 AM<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\"GettyImages-618216404.jpg\"<\/p>\n

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May 11, 2026 08:51 AM<\/p>\n

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\"US-NEWS-CALIF-FIRESTATION-SEXASSAULT-FILEPIC-DMT\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n A Riverside County firefighter\/paramedic faces multiple felony charges after prosecutors alleged he sexually assaulted three women, including one at a Temecula fire station\n <\/p>\n

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\"Bill<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jan-Care recognized U.S. Rep. Carol Miller for her work on ambulance reimbursement, treatment-in-place policies and rural health access\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Bill<\/p>\n

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\u00a92026 Miami Herald.
Visit miamiherald.com<\/a>.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

PSTrax announces partnership with LION to strengthen PPE accountability for public safety agencies<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Devoun Cetoute and Milena MalaverMiami Herald MIAMI \u2014 Patrick Lee, a seasoned South Florida boat captain, was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-267707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}