Possible gas explosion on yacht severely burns siblings near Rotterdam
A 14-year-old boy and his 16-year-old sister were severely injured Tuesday afternoon when a gas explosion tore through their family's motor yacht in a harbor in the Hoeksche Waard. The siblings, who had been trying to warm sausages on a gas stove, suffered second-degree burns and remain hospitalized, though they are no longer in life-threatening condition, according to Rijnmond.
The explosion occurred while the parents were temporarily away, taking a short trip in a small rubber boat. Witnesses described a deafening blast, followed by screaming children and thick smoke pouring from the vessel.
“I suddenly heard a huge bang. It was really like an F-16 breaking the sound barrier, that kind of impact,” Jaap van der Jagt, chairman of the Watersportvereniging Goudswaard, who was working on his own boat at the time, told Rijnmond. “Then you turn around and see screaming children coming out of that boat. Then you know it’s serious.”
According to harbor master Henk Plas, the explosion happened just five meters from where he was standing on the dock. “The youngsters came out screaming, covered in burns,” he told Rijnmond.
The two siblings managed to escape the burning yacht on their own and were immediately aided by bystanders before being transported by ambulance to the hospital. Plas, who knows the family personally, confirmed that they had been attempting to cook sausages on the boat's gas stove when the explosion occurred.
A fierce fire erupted after the blast, releasing heavy smoke. Van der Jagt, Plas, and others in the harbor attempted to extinguish the flames despite the danger.
“We threw buckets of water in and emptied fire extinguishers,” Van der Jagt said. “But it didn’t help. We did manage to move the boats nearby so the fire wouldn’t spread.”
The fire was fed by batteries and hundreds of liters of diesel fuel on board. According to Van der Jagt, the boat—a polyester vessel about 11 meters long—was engulfed in flames within five minutes. “Nothing’s left, really. Just part of the hull. It goes up fast, that stuff.” By Tuesday evening, what remained of the boat had been hoisted out of the water.
Plas suspects a gas leak triggered the explosion, though the exact cause remains unclear. “They had everything renewed last year, including a new stove,” he told Rijnmond. “Something went wrong, but I don’t know what.”
He offered advice for other boat owners to avoid similar accidents. “You could place a gas detector in the lower part of the boat. Gas is heavier than air, so if there’s a leak, it’ll set off an alarm,” he said.
Plas also stressed the importance of quality gas hoses. “You’ve got to inspect them thoroughly. I have all copper lines on my boat and only 20 centimeters of hose. I replace them every two years. Officially you’re only required to do it every ten, but I think that’s way too long.”
He emphasized that the family's boat was not in disrepair. “It was absolutely not a mess,” Plas said. “I know the man well. He’s very meticulous. But something leaked—otherwise this wouldn’t have happened. It’s a tragic accident.”
Many people were present in the harbor at the time. “Some were really shaken,” Van der Jagt told Rijnmond. “It made a big impression on me too. You don’t experience something like this every day. Your first concern is of course those children. The rest is just material.”
