Boat explosion at NJ marina injures 2 fishermen

🔥Two friends had just refueled at the Raritan Marina during a fishing trip

🔥The force of the explosion sent one of the men into Swamp Creek

🔥The boat sank from the weight of water used to extinguish the flames

OLD BRIDGE — Two people were injured when a boat exploded while it was refueling Wednesday afternoon.

Old Bridge police said the force of the explosion at the Raritan Marina in the Laurence Harbor section around 3:20 p.m. sent a 57-year-old man into the water and burned his face and legs.

After bystanders pulled him out of the water, he was flown to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

A 47-year-old South Amboy man was treated at Bayshore Medical Center for glass in his torso and arms, according to police.

Michael Sorger, who identified himself to News 12 as the younger victim, described the explosion "like a bomb went off right next to me."

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Explosion felt a half mile away

A neighbor told News 12 the explosion shook his house a half mile away.

Video posted by ABC 7 Eyewitness News shows firefighters using foam and water to extinguish the flames in the water near the fueling dock. Firefighters worked to keep the flames from a wooded area across Stump Creek which is also bordered by NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line.

The boat sank by the weight of the water sprayed on the flames, according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation but police said it does not appear to be suspicious.

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