Pleasure Boat Explosion Leaves 2 Dead, Investigation Launched

According to local reports, the two victims were women. Their names were not immediately released.

Video via KTLA 5

View this video on YouTube

Video via KTLA 5

Two people are dead after a pleasure boat burst into flames near a fuel dock in Long Beach, California over the weekend.

In its initial statement on the incident on Saturday, the Long Beach Fire Department confirmed that two people aboard the boat were dead, while three others had "burn-related injuries."

Per the department, the boat was "well involved with fire" when first responders arrived at the scene. The fire is currently the subject of an investigation.

A report from regional paper The Press-Telegram added additional details, including word that the two victims in the fire were women, while the three individuals who were injured include two men and a woman. The piece also featured comments from a witness, who said the boat was “fully engulfed” in as little as 10 seconds.

At the time of this writing, additional information, including suspected causes of the fire and the identities of the victims, had not been made publicly available. Footage from the tragic fire, as seen above, showed a dark cloud of smoke billowing from the boat in broad daylight.

Latest in Life