North Carolina boat exploded after gas was pumped into fishing rod holder
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A boat exploded at a dock on the North Carolina coast, injuring three, after the boaters accidentally pumped 28 gallons of gasoline into a fishing rod holder instead of the fuel tank.
The three people hospitalized are the boat's owner, David Martin Jr., 40, of Charlotte; passenger Jonathan Bickett, 35, of Charlotte; and Kendrick Schwarz, 24, of Brunswick County, Scott Pritchard with the state Wildlife Resource Commission told WECT.
Schwarz worked for Sea Tow, a towing service called after the two realized the mistake.
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Jeff Williamson, who runs a fishing charter out of Ocean Isle Beach, said he warned the boaters after seeing the sheen of gas on the water.
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"I advised him he better call a tow company to tow him back to the marina instead of cranking the boat because it might explode," he told WECT.
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As battery cables were being disconnected in an effort to prevent a spark, a spark occurred anyway, igniting the fuel.
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Martin and Bickett were airlifted to a Chapel Hill hospital. An ambulance took Schwarz to a hospital in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with minor burns.
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Martin told WBTV in a phone interview that he and Bickett are in a burn unit with severe injuries, but they're thankful to be alive.