Boat explosion near Haulover sandbar leaves woman burned, searching for answers: "I burned my arms"
A 62-year-old woman is speaking out after the boat she was on exploded near the Haulover sandbar, describing what she called a terrifying ordeal over the weekend.
Ruth Gutierrez was one of the first patients released after 11 people were reportedly transported to hospitals, including Jackson Memorial Hospital, following the explosion.
The explosion happened around 12:45 p.m. Saturday, prompting a response from more than 25 rescue units.
With a white bandage covering burns on her right arm, Gutierrez spoke with CBS News Miami on Monday as she and her daughter, Samantha Depena of Fort Lauderdale, returned to the Ryder Trauma Center to visit friends who were also on board the boat for a birthday party.
"It was traumatic. We don't understand what happened. That's all I can say," Depena said.
Speaking in Spanish, Gutierrez said the group had rented the boat and had just boarded before the explosion happened.
"I burned my arms. I burned my behind. I burned my back," Gutierrez said. "I was in the water for 25 minutes. I jumped in the water and I don't know how to swim, and some of my friends who were burned helped me out of the water."
Gutierrez said one of the friends who helped her was Paola Scott, who remains hospitalized.
CBS News Miami spoke with Scott's husband, Jim Scott of Cooper City, who said his wife suffered burns over more than half her body.
"She was burned over 50 percent of her body," Scott said. "Her torso, her legs and her arms. She has second-degree burns."
Scott said his wife told him the explosion may have happened after fumes accumulated on the boat while passengers prepared to light birthday candles.
Gutierrez said she remembered smelling gasoline before the explosion.
"I just remember everyone singing 'Happy Birthday' and then there was an explosion," she said.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were among the agencies that responded.
A spokesperson for FWC told CBS News Miami investigators have not yet determined what caused the explosion, and it remains unclear whether anyone will face citations.