‘Like a bomb.’ Witness rushes to help after boat explodes in harbor, CA officials say

“It went off like a bomb,” a Good Samaritan told CBSLA after he helped save six people who were on a boat that exploded in California’s Huntington Harbour.

After hearing the explosion, the witness sprang into action, grabbing his dinghy to help get the passengers to safety, according to the Huntington Beach Fire Department.

“The first thing I did was grab the fire extinguisher...I got my inflatable and I ran to that boat,” Trent McWhinney told CBSLA. “I don’t care about the boat, I care about the people in the boat.”

The boat exploded the afternoon of Nov. 1, the fire department said in a release. After getting the victims to safety, McWhinney took them down the channel to a dock near Warner Fire Station, and paramedics helped treat them, the release said.

“I did see a kid get blown out of the boat, but it looked like they were all okay,” Troy Ford, a resident who was cleaning his boat when the explosion happened, told The Orange County Register. “Black smoke, a little bit of fire, a lot of screaming, which was really nerve-wracking.”

Four of the six passengers aboard during the explosion were taken to local hospitals to get treatment for their injuries, the release said. One patient signed out against medical advice and another refused treatment.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, according to the release.