Helicopters dispatched after boat explosion reported in Ocean Isle Beach

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — A sunny and bright afternoon in Ocean Isle Beach turned into a grim and frightening one as a boat exploded right off a dock, severely injuring three people.

Many people ran as soon as they heard the explosion and others were able to help the victims.

“We just heard a loud boom, kind of looked over, and a guy rolled over,” Colby Cummings said.

Two helicopters were dispatched to the area, according to Brunswick County Fire Marshal Scott Garner.

Garner tells WWAY emergency crews were called around 4 p.m. to a boat explosion at Ocean Isle Fishing Center at 65 Causeway Drive. Garner says the boat was fully involved when firefighters arrived. Some witnesses say they tried to help the victims as much as they could.

“We really didn’t know what to do. I just stood there and the guy came running at us or running towards us saying ‘help’. And he’s in pretty bad shape and we kind of snapped out of it and tried to get off the deck,” Ben Morris said.

Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith say there were two people on the boat, including one in the bilge. She says the other person was refueling the boat when it exploded.

“It literally sounded like someone stuffed dynamite into the hull of the boat and lit it on fire. It was just a loud boom. I looked around and I saw that everyone was running away-darting away and I saw my boss was going and so I just followed suit. When you see a fire next to a gas pump, you don’t really stick around much to see what happens,” Cummings said.

Witnesses say the flames got incredibly close to the gas tanks but staff on site rushed to shut off the pumps.

“They had everyone evacuated, 90 seconds at least. Shut the gas off, had that handled. Called 9-1-1, had that handled. Fire department was here, maybe two minutes,” Cummings said.

Smith says the two people on the boat were airlifted. She says she heard at least one of them was taken to a burn center in Chapel Hill. Smith says a man on the dock was also hurt. She says she believes crews took him to Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach.

Just before 5 p.m. Garner said crews had the fire under control and were working on environmental impacts. He said they had materials on the way to try to prevent the spread of fuel in the water as much possible.

According to the witnesses, they saw one of the victims completely engulfed in flames.

There’s no word on the extent of the victims’ injuries.

Witnesses say if it wasn’t for the fast-acting decisions of the staff, the pumps could have exploded, possibly harming more.