Two men sustained serious injuries on Tuesday when their boat exploded on Lake Michigan, near the coast of Waukegan, the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported. Witnesses and passersby witnessed the vessel, a 25-foot fiberglass boat, become completely engulfed in flames shortly before 3 p.m., according to the Chicago Tribune The incident drew a rapid response from various agencies including the Lake County Sheriff Marine Unit, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
As per the Chicago Tribune, both men, a 46-year-old from Washington, and a 55-year-old from Franklin Park, were aboard at the time of the explosion. They were assisted to shore by a bystander, prior to the emergency teams arriving at the scene. After being hospitalized for burns, and smoke inhalation, the boat continued to burn for about 90 minutes before it finally sank.
A good Samaritan's timely intervention was crucial to the rescue, as highlighted by witness Jim Schiffman, in a statement obtained by ABC7 Chicago. "If there wasn't a boat out there, and there were very few boats out today, those guys could have gone down," he remarked. Schiffman managed to capture cell phone footage after the explosion. The survivors were picked up by someone on a pontoon boat and were subsequently brought to Waukegan Harbor.
