'Kind of a miracle,' 2 men and dog escape with minor injuries after Gloucester boat explosion
GLOUCESTER – Two men and a dog were rescued following a boat explosion Monday in Gloucester Harbor.
Gloucester Police Chief Ed Conley said both men were taken to Beverly Hospital after suffering what are believed to be minor injuries.
The two men jumped off the boat and swam to safety. The dog swam to land and was picked up by a neighbor.
Firefighters suspect a gas leak caused the explosion, which took place near the heavily traveled Blynman Bridge.
Harbormaster Thomas Ciametaro said the boaters had just filled up with about 85 gallons of fuel and only made it about 150 feet away before the explosion happened and the boat caught fire.
"Luckily everyone is safe," Ciametaro said. "The silver lining in this is that it didn't happen in the marina basin. Because then you're looking at a potential marina fire with multiple vessels, buildings, docks, people. Overall for a bad scenario it was a best case scenario."
Carlo Cicala works on the bridge. He witnessed the explosion.
"As soon as he passed, he turned to the left. I heard a big sound like a cannon. Pop!," Cicala said. "The current was so strong that the boat was, while in flames, it went back in the river."
Fire Chief Eric Smith said the boaters were extremely lucky.
"Had they been rendered unconscious and thrown into the water, their chances of drowning or serious injuries was pretty high," he said.
Ciametaro agreed that things could have been much worse.
"Very lucky. And to escape with just minimal injuries is really kind of a miracle to be honest with you," he said.