Seven injured in boat blast
Seven people were injured, two seriously, when an 18-foot pleasure boat exploded at Lake Mead last Monday.
Members of the all-male crew were transported to Las Vegas-area hospitals with burns. Officials would not release the names of the victims, but identified one as a 16-year-old boy and another as a Hayward, Calif., resident.
The vessel was approaching Callville Bay marina late in the evening when witnesses say it exploded. Investigators were focusing on the boat’s fuel system.
“I can’t think of a case where this has happened before,” says Roxanne Dey, spokeswoman for Lake Mead National Recreation Area. “They were lucky it occurred in the harbor. Had it occurred out in the basin, they would have been in real trouble,” she said.
About 8 million people visit Lake Mead annually, mainly to fish, stay on houseboats and water ski. Last year, 150 boating accidents claimed two lives at the 1.5-million-acre lake.
Gary Polakovic
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