Casino boat fire in Florida, America kills one person and leaves 15 others injured
Following the break out of a fire on a shuttle boat that was taking passengers to a casino boat near New Port Richey, Florida, a woman has died and 15 people have been left injured.
The female passenger, who was aged 42, died at 10:42 on the 14th January at the Bayonet Point Regional Medical Center, where she was being treated for her injuries sustained from the blaze, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Kevin Doll.
At the time of the blaze, there were 50 people on board and the boat was about half a mile from the shore, according to Shawn Whited, who is the chief of the fire division for Pasco County. Having assessed the scene, fire department officials are of the belief that the most likely scenario is that the fire ignited in the engine room and quickly spread.
Officials were on hand to praise the captain of the boat as his actions saved a lot of lives. The captain swung the boat round upon noticing the fire, and successfully managed to get the boat a lot closer to the shore.
This in turn made it easier for first responders to reach those in the water, and it also made the distance back to the shore shorter for the passengers who fled the boat in order to swim away.
