Miami: Charter boat explodes near popular sandbar, 11 injured in Biscayne Bay incident

About a dozen people were taken to hospitals with injuries after emergency officials responded to a boat explosion near Miami, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue agency said.

A charter boat was in Biscayne Bay, near Haulover Sandbar, when an explosion occurred on board Saturday, injuring the passengers, according to preliminary information provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

More than two dozen rescue units responded to the incident around 12.48 pm and "encountered multiple patients requiring medical attention", Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a statement. The agency said it transported 11 people to local hospitals.


Neither agency provided any information about the condition of those who were injured.

The state Conservation Commission said an investigation is underway.

The US Coast Guard was among the emergency crews that responded.