A 24-year-old man sustained serious injuries with burns covering over 60% of his body after a fire erupted on a sailboat in Muskegon Lake this past Saturday, authorities say the incident happened near the Adelaide Pointe development project at the marina located at 1204 W Western Ave. FOX 17 Online reported the man was immediately taken to Trinity Health in Muskegon and thereafter airlifted to Grand Rapids in serious condition.

The fire, which according to the Muskegon Fire Department, began around 12:35 p.m., saw firefighters scrambling to the scene where they found the sailing boat ablaze, and wherein the Muskegon County Sheriff Marine Division assisted with the extinguishment efforts but unfortunately, the boat sunk during firefighting operations, Capt. Tim Bahorski of the Muskegon Police Department described the incident as an accidental scenario when the man was trying to fill or start a cooking stove, as WOOD TV reported.

Through a Facebook post, the fire department conveyed that the fire was "well-involved" with a significant smoke column being visible from the station prompting the response which lasted about half an hour with no other boats being damaged, although the docks sustained some fire damage.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, initial reports suggest cooking may have been the source, WZZM 13 cites the official stance noting no definitive conclusion has been reached yet, preliminaries point to the man's activity aboard the vessel which, set against the serene backdrop of Muskegon Lake's waters, turned tragic in an interplay of flame, heat, and desperation as a leisure day turned into one marked by sirens and urgency.