3 hurt when boat bursts into flames while docked near City Island in the Bronx

Three people were hurt Saturday when a boat burst into flames while docked near City Island in the Bronx.

It happened around 1:40 p.m.

Video shows the 30-foot vessel engulfed in flames and spewing black smoke near Bridge Street between Minnieford and City Island avenues.

Roberto Moran, a waiter at the nearby Lobster House, was among the first to call 911.

"The fire department came and everything, the police, the helicopter, and everybody was moving around and running and everything," he said.

"It had no bearing on us, but you never know," Lobster House owner Joseph Mandarino said. "Listen, explosion, you never know, things start flying."  

Some witnesses, like Emmanuel Torres, warily kept their distance as the flames were in close proximity to a fueling station at the dock.

"I figured the gas station was gonna go," Torres said. "I figured there was no way you could be a couple of feet away, a fire like that, and not everything go up in flames."

Dozens of firefighters responded to the scene, battling the flames and eventually containing the fire in under an hour.

Officials say a 60-year-old woman, a 39-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

While boat fires aren't a regular occurrence on City Island, locals say incidents on the water have seemingly been on the rise.

"People are just trying to jump in and think they know what they are doing, and they don't realize how dangerous it is and then things happen," Torres said.