Nine people in Maryland were injured after a docked boat exploded, with four airlifted to a hospital due to the severity of their injuries, police said.
The explosion occurred on July 4 around 4.20pm on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City, a small town northeast of Baltimore on the border with Delaware, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The 32-foot-long boat had just refueled in front of a seafood restaurant called Schaefer’s Canal House before the explosion.
Among those injured, seven were on the boat, and two were on a nearby dock, the fire marshal’s office said. None have been publicly identified.
Maryland State Police Aviation Command airlifted four of the victims to a Christiana Care Health Net facility, while the remaining injured were transported to local hospitals by ambulance.
Vincent Hunter Dortenzo, a spokesman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police, told the New York Times that the airlifted victims suffered serious burns.
No fatalities have been reported. The current condition of the people who were injured is unclear.
The explosion prompted a multi-agency response consisting of multiple helicopters, paramedics and more than half a dozen fire companies.