40-foot boat explodes at Wash. marina; man injured

[February 01, 2012]  SEQUIM, Wash. (AP) -- A 40-foot boat that exploded at a marina on Washington's Olympic Peninsula Tuesday evening broke windows, inflicted shrapnel-type damage on other nearby vessels and seriously injured a 78-year-old man, firefighters said.

The force of the blast sank the boat, briefly trapping the lone occupant in the hull in the water, Clallam County Fire District No. 3 spokesman Patrick Young said. Two people on a neighboring boat quickly pulled debris off the man and rescued him.

The injured man is believed to have lived on the boat, Young said. Medics said he suffered burns and fractures. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a police dispatcher said. He wasn't immediately identified.

Young said he didn't know exactly how many other boats were damaged along the slip at the John Wayne Marina in the town of Sequim (skwihm). But he said boats as far away as 75 yards received damage.

The Coast Guard and police are investigating the cause of the explosion.

Spill response crews worked to mop up an undetermined amount of fuel from the shattered boat.

[Associated Press]

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