4 experienced boatmen are fortunate to have survived a boat explosion which happened at the waterfront area of Belize City, known as Hangar, near the municipal airstrip.
It happened at 1:05 p.m. and information to 7News is that the men were launching a boat with an inboard engine when a fire spontaneously ignited onboard. The fire quickly caused an explosion, the force of which sent one of the men flying into the sea. The others had to jump before the blaze fully engulfed the entire vessel.
City Councillor Dion Leslie was right there when it happened, and he described to us what he saw:
Dion Leslie, City Councilor
"Myself and my mom, we heard a large explosion which rattled the windows in the house and we ran outside. We notice that a boat that was 500 yards from shore was on fire and one of the occupants had already been thrown into the water and the other three was still on the boat and so everyone who was out there started screaming at them. Some of them took a little long to jump, maybe due to the explosion, they were a little dazed and confused afterwards and finally two of them jumped into the water, leaving one other gentleman in the boat. We saw that it took him a little while longer than the rest to come to full consciousness and by that time he had already sustain severe burns from the fire. When he finally fell into the water, the boat basically became engulfed in flames with 35 seconds to a minute. Thank God that a boat was there waiting to be pulled up. God works in mysterious ways. Without that boat being there, we would not know what would have happen. That boat pulled everyone to safety and basically rescued everyone. It was a horrific scene at that time. I know the gentleman and I wish all of them a quick and speedy recovery and I ask everyone in Belize, if they are traveling to the cayes or inland or to Placencia or to anywhere for the holidays, please be safe and be aware of your surroundings."
Daniel Ortiz
"Have you had an opportunity to speak to any of these gentlemen who were on the boat?"
Dion Leslie, City Councilor
"I've spoken to friends and family members of them who I call, concern, if they were okay and I know they were in the hospital seeking treatment. I don't know the extent of injuries, but from what I saw it's a situation that escalated pretty quickly with that fire."
The men were rescued by that vessel which passed by at the same time, and rushed them to the Fisheries Department dock. That's where the ambulances raced to and then rushed the, to the KHMH. One of them, 59 year-old Romaldo "Romy" Badillo, a resident of Coney Drive, is currently in the ICU in a critical condition due to the burn injuries and the massive head wound he received.
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