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Louise Thomas
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A 5-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after he was severely burned when a boat exploded on an Oklahoma lake.
The explosion took place at Bridgeview Marina at Lake Texoma near Madill, Oklahoma, around 2.45 pm Sunday.
At least three people were on the boat at the time of the explosion – two women, aged 51 and 25, as well as the boy. According to KOCO, a 52-year-old man, Brandon Cox, was also on the boat at the time.
Cox and the two women were uninjured but the boy suffered burns to his legs, arms, and face, according to WFAA and KOCO. The boy was taken to Parkland Burn Center in Dallas by helicopter almost 100 miles away. As of Monday evening, he had been released, according to Fox 4. The family is making the trip from Dallas back to their home in Oklahoma City.
The incident happened as they were refueling the boat, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety said. The boat drifted from the dock and when they went to restart the boat, a spark ignited the gasoline fumes, setting the vessel on fire, officials said.
The blast is being investigated by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Troopers have said that the explosion was caused by equipment failure.
“Madill Fire Department and Tri-City Fire Department worked diligently to extinguish the fire. We drafted water from the lake and were able to extinguish the fire in a timely manner,” the Madill Fire Department stated.
Kami Elkins and her children were on Lake Texoma when they saw the black plumes of smoke.
“We were going to give them our fire extinguishers to help, but then we saw the smoke getting worse,” she told Fox 4.
The first responders were only minutes away from the scene.
“We didn’t know that a family was previously on the boat,” she added. The flames took the boat apart down to the frame.
“Here I am with my husband and my two kids, and we are sitting out here watching this,” Elkins told Fox 4. “And there’s a family that had to drag their own kid off the boat from getting burned.”
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