A 60-year-old man was airlifted to a hospital from the Homosassa Riverside Resort after the boat he was operating exploded on Tuesday, according to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.
"The explosion actually blew him out of the boat," said Citrus Sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Yates.
The man was on a 20-foot center console boat located in a canal behind the launch ramp at the Homosassa Riverside Resort at 5297 S. Cherokee Way in Homosassa, at 3:40 p.m., when his boat exploded, according to a report.
Captain Jack Barlow was working in the Homosassa Riverside resort's bait and tackle shop on Tuesday when he heard the explosion. Barlow ran outside and saw a boat in flames.
“Coming out to find out what happened over there, I noticed he was in the water and I (saw) smoke coming out from the boat. And his wife had turned around and asked me to call 911,” he said.
Firefighters said they quickly brought the fire under control despite some access issues to the area. The boat is a total loss.
"That's more of an inboard or inboard outboard when you have the blowers and sometimes folks will fuel up and not turn the blowers on,” he said. “I do not know what happened in this situation just that the boat caught fire."
EMS treated the boat operator at the scene and called Bay Flight because the man's body was badly burned, according to Yates. Investigators have not released the man's identity or an update on his condition.
The Florida State Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the boat explosion.