Breaking ***Australian Explosion***,....Tragic, very sad...

Boat explosion's tragic end

May 04, 2008



A HUSBAND and wife are dead and their son's partner is fighting for her life after a boat exploded in a tragic end to a family outing in Melbourne.

EXPLOSION...Two people were killed and six others injured while a boat was being refuelled in Melbourne. /AAP
Three other family members were injured in the fireball, which ripped through the 11-metre cabin cruiser after it was refuelled at Port Melbourne yesterday.

The married couple, aged in their 60s, died instantly in the blast and their bodies were thrown into the water.

The couple's 48-year-old son had only bought the second-hand boat yesterday morning.

It had just been filled with 200 litres of petrol when it exploded at a floating fuel station at Pier 35, just before 2pm (AEST).

Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) Commander Wayne Garrad said the son had just refuelled the boat and was trying unsuccessfully to restart the motor when tragedy struck.

"It caused one hell of a bang,'' Mr Garrad said.

"The boat was just destroyed. The timber and fittings are all in the water. It's just strewn everywhere.''

The dead couple, from South Yarra, had been standing near the stern of the boat.

Their son and his 45-year-old de facto wife, who were standing at the bow, were taken to The Alfred Hospital with burns.

The woman has life-threatening injuries.

Her sister, 46, and 13-year-old nephew were standing on the fuel dock and suffered less serious injuries.

Another man standing with them was uninjured.

The injured boy's brothers, 11, and five, were in a nearby restaurant and escaped the blast.

Witness Gary Patrick was first on scene and said it resembled a war zone.

"To describe it best it was probably like the ship had been torpedoed, a lot of debris, flames on the water,'' he said.

Mr Patrick pulled the injured people from the dock and had to wrench away the boat owner, who was screaming for his dead parents.

"We had to drag him from the water and then forcibly remove him from the marina, as you'd imagine he was pretty upset.''

Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) spokesman Paul Holman said there was nothing that could be done for the elder couple.

"The scene out there is just chaotic,'' he said.

"I've not seen something like that for many years.

"There are just splinters of boat, it's unrecognisable and that anyone in actual fact survived this is amazing.''

Authorities were examining the cause of the blast and the coroner would be investigating.

Search and Rescue Squad members, the MFB and Arson Squad detectives were also on site following the explosion.