Operator observed a juvenile fall off a tube being pulled by an unrelated vessel. Operator decided to pick the juvenile up in Vessel 1. As Vessel 1 neared the juvenile in the water, the operator killed the motor and began drifting towards the juvenile. The juvenile climbed aboard via a ladder on the starboard transom. Juvenile and adult passenger(Operator's wife) were seated forward of the center console. As the operator restarted the motor, and explosion occurred causing a 20 foot flame to erupt from the bilge access located in the floor at the stern. The operator realized his legs were on fire and jumped into the water, followed by the juvenile who was wearing a Type III PFD. The adult passenger grabbed the Type B1 fire extinguisher and jumped into the water, followed by the juvenile who was wearing a Type III PFD. Operator nor adult passenger had PFD's on at the time of incident; both did don a Type III PD afterwards. The three persons were picked up by the unrelated vessel (family members) initially pulling the tube where they called 9-1-1-. Vessel 1 was equipped with remote steering and a engine kill switch; the kill switch lanyard was not used. The persons did not smell gas fumes prior to incident. The operator claimed to not have had any alcohol prior to incident, nor was there any evidence of alcohol in Vessel 1 during agents initial observation. Operator is prescribed pain relief medication by the Louisiana Pain Specialist as he undergoes treatment for prior back pain/injuries; Operator claims to have taken little to no prescribed pain medication prior to incident Blood sample(Kit#PM00695) was taken from operator at West Jefferson Medical Center for analysis. At the time of the report, results of the blood sample are still pending.
 
The explosion was caused by an electrical spark where fuel vapors ignited as the key was turned to restart the motor.  The source of the leak of fuel vapors iis unknown at this time.
WESTWEGO