<\/p>\n
Ruth Gutierrez speaks at Jackson Memorial Hospital\u2019s Ryder Trauma Center in Miami on Monday, May 11, 2026. She was injured by a boat explosion near the Haulover Sandbar on Saturday, May 9, 2026.<\/p>\n
CBS News Miami<\/p>\n
A 62-year-old woman is speaking out after the boat she was on exploded near the Haulover Sandbar, describing what she called a terrifying ordeal.<\/p>\n
Ruth Gutierrez was one of the first patients released after 11 people were reportedly transported to hospitals, including Jackson Memorial Hospital, following the explosion.<\/p>\n
The blast happened around 12:45 p.m. Saturday, prompting a response from more than 25 rescue units.<\/p>\n
With a white bandage covering burns on her right arm, Gutierrez spoke with CBS News Miami on Monday as she and daughter Samantha Depena, of Fort Lauderdale, returned to Jackson\u2019s Ryder Trauma Center to visit friends who were also on board the boat for a birthday party.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was traumatic. We don\u2019t understand what happened. That\u2019s all I can say,\u201d Depena said.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Spanish, Gutierrez said the group had rented the boat and had just boarded before the explosion happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI burned my arms. I burned my behind. I burned my back,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cI was in the water for 25 minutes. I jumped in the water and I don\u2019t know how to swim, and some of my friends who were burned helped me out of the water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gutierrez said one of the friends who helped her was Paola Scott, who was still hospitalized on Monday.<\/p>\n
CBS News Miami spoke with Scott\u2019s husband, Jim Scott, of Cooper City, who said his wife suffered extensive burns.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was burned over 50% of her body,\u201d Scott said. \u201cHer torso, her legs and her arms. She has second-degree burns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott said his wife told him the explosion might have happened after fumes accumulated on the boat while passengers prepared to light birthday candles.<\/p>\n
Gutierrez said she remembered smelling gasoline before the explosion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember everyone singing \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 and then there was an explosion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were among the agencies that responded.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for FWC told CBS News Miami that investigators have not yet determined what caused the explosion, and it remains unclear whether anyone will face citations.<\/p>\n