SEQUIM, Wash. -- The explosion aboard a 40-foot pleasure boat at the John Wayne Marina in Sequim that critically injured a 78-year-old man is believed to have been caused by a propane tank on the boat, Sequim police Sgt. Sean Madison said Wednesday.
The devastating blast occurred Tuesday night; all that remained of the 40-foot boat afterward was a debris field.
The injured man, Keith Bryant, was in critical condition Wednesday at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center with burns, back injuries and possible fractured bones, Clallam County Fire District spokesman Patrick Young said.
"The explosion had such force," Young said, "that boats within 75 yards received varying degrees of damage. Clifford and Julie Houser were on their boat two slips down and were knocked to the floor by the force of the explosion. Their boat sustained substantial damage with a large number of windows broken out by the force of the explosion."
He said the Housers were able find the 78-year-old man in the hull of his boat covered with debris. They pulled Bryant out just as paradedics arrived.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
