Boat explodes in Echuca

The Moama grandmother said the quick and selfless action of ‘‘two tinnies, a wakeboat and a dozen or more people possibly saved our lives and the hull of the boat’’.

Speaking to the Riv yesterday, Vicki said she was still ‘‘dazed’’ by the accident which left her with several bruises and a sprained ankle.

‘‘I’m a bit sore and can’t handle big noises at the moment,’’ she said.

‘‘It was a very scary experience.’’

About 1pm Saturday, Vicki had gone out on her Holden 253 speed boat with friends — Melbourne couple Don Beckley and Anetta Pizág — to enjoy some lunch, skiing and wakeboarding.

‘‘The boat hadn’t been in the water for about 12 months so I put it in the shop last week for a few days,’’ she said.

‘‘It had a service and a look-over and was running pretty nice.

‘‘So we took it out and it started gurgling after about 10 minutes in the water and we thought it may just be the old fuel.’’

After having lunch on the beach at the east boat ramp, Vicki and Don jumped back in the boat to start it up, while Anetta sat on the beach.

‘‘I was in the driver’s seat and turned it on to see if it would go and I let it idle there for a while,’’ Vicki said.

‘‘It seemed okay so I pushed the accelerator and gave it a good rev and all of a sudden, there was a huge ‘bang’ and the lid flew up.

‘‘Thank God Anetta wasn’t sitting in the back of the boat because the lid would have hit her.

‘‘Then there were flames and a huge explosion which pushed me to the right side of the boat. I saw my hat blow off and I thought my hair was on fire so I jumped into the river.

‘‘I must have sprained my ankle when I did this.’’

Vicki said Don — an ex firefighter, made sure she was okay before opening the hood of the boat.

‘‘Once the air got in there, the flames went everywhere,’’ Vicki said.

‘‘He risked his life to get the flames out on his own.

‘‘There was also a full gerry can next to the motor and he managed to get that away.’’

By then, two tinnies and a wakeboard came around the corner and helped Don extinguish the flames with three fire extinguishers and eskies full of water.

‘‘There were also some jetskis who were doing burnouts to get the fire out,’’ Vicki said.

‘‘It seemed like forever but it probably took about five minutes to put the fire out.

‘‘I was just in shock the whole time.’’

Surprisingly, Don suffered no burns, but like Vicki, he is also covered in bruises.

And thanks to her friend and those who came to help, the boat sustained no structural damage.

‘‘The hull wasn’t burnt. It could be rebuilt but I won’t be doing that,’’ Vicki said.

‘‘There’s no way I would get in the water with an inboard motor again. It was pretty scary.

‘‘Yesterday a car went passed me and backfired and I just panicked.’’

For now, Vicki is just thanking her lucky stars and those who came to their rescue.

‘‘If it wasn’t for them, we might not even be here,’’ she said.