Boat explosion in north of Sydney leaves six people in serious condition

Witnesses say a mother and her two-year-old child narrowly escaped a horrific boat explosion that left four people in an induced coma and two others injured.

Emergency services were called to a marina near Danger Road at Brookyln, north of Sydney, at 5:10pm on Sunday after reports a boat had exploded on the Hawkesbury River.

NSW Ambulance inspector David Morris said of the eight people on board, six were treated on scene and transport to the Royal North Shore and Westmead hospital.

“It’s one of the worst incidents I’ve seen in my 15-year career in ambulance, and thankfully we had all the other emergency services here to help us out,” inspector David Morris said.

NSW Police said several of the passengers had significant burns.

A 27-year-old woman suffered burns to over 60 per cent of her body and was in an induced coma at the Royal North Shore Hospital, while another woman, 25, had burns to 40 per cent of her body.

A 29-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man had burns to about 12 per cent of their bodies.

All four were placed in induced comas, while two other males had minor injuries.

A witness at the marina said the mother and child were on the boat, near the bow, at the time of the explosion.

“We were enjoying our ice-cream and they were taking a few happy snaps. They jumped back on board they were starting the boat, it exploded, thankfully the couple with the baby were on the bow of the boat and not near the explosion. 

“We witnessed a really horrific scene.”

Fire and Rescue NSW said the boat was severely damaged and had sunk in shallow water and are investigating the cause of the explosion.

Emergency services were expected to give further updates this morning.