11 Injured in Haulover Beach Boat Explosion

A boat explosion near Haulover Beach on Saturday left 11 people injured, with multiple victims suffering serious burns, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel.

The blast occurred around 12:45 p.m. as the vessel was near the Haulover sandbar. The boat’s captain, speaking off camera, told Local 10 that he went to start the engines—and as soon as he turned the key, something exploded.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes. “When we looked back out, we saw three people flying off of the boat and a puff of smoke,” one observer said. Another witness reported seeing 12 stretchers leave with people badly burned, describing the incident as “just like a gasoline explosion—quick and terrible.”

First responders rushed 11 people from the scene on stretchers to area hospitals. Among the most seriously injured is Adriana Rojos Torres, who remains sedated in the intensive care unit at Ryder Trauma Center.

Her husband, Anthony Torres, said Adriana suffered second-degree burns to her legs, buttocks, chest, left arm, and the left side of her body. He will never forget the panicked phone call he received from her as the boat exploded.

“Just screaming, ‘Help me! Help me! I’m burned. The boat blew up. Help me! Help me!’” Torres recalled. “And then the phone cuts off. So I’m like, ‘What is going on?’”

Torres said his wife was on the boat with more than a dozen other people for a Mother’s Day weekend outing. He expects her to remain in the ICU for at least one week.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.