Over Mother’s Day Weekend, emergency services were dispatched to Margaritaville gas dock located on Lake Lanier as calls of a boat explosion were reported. Six people, including a 13-year-old and 16-year-old were injured from the explosion.
Both the 16-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital following the explosion. A 39-year-old woman was also taken to Grady separately by Hall County fire services, the three other people injured refused to go to the hospital.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThe GDNR says a boat exploded on Lake Lanier today while refueling, 6 people were injured. pic.twitter.com/nTTLx1DiQ2
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) May 9, 2021
Witness Annette Ross told Fox 5 News “There was lots of black smoke. The back half of the boat was completely engulfed in flames.”
A small jet ski caught on fire as well, but was put out within minutes. The Hall County Fire Marshall is still investigating the cause of the fire, but many are already adding this incident to the list of mysterious things that happen on the Lake.
Spooky history of Lake Lanier
Over the years, Lake Lanier has sparked controversy after several tragic incidents claimed the lives of multiple drowning victims. Over Memorial Day Weekend 2019, 30-year-old Reginald Terrell Whitehead went under the water and never resurfaced after falling off of his jet ski. 24 hours prior to Whitehead’s accident, 61-year-old Michael Thompson of Gainesville drowned near a boat dock on Lake Lanier. Just weeks before that, on April 28, 2019, 17-year-old Dontay Lane of Lithonia was pulled from the water after nearly drowning— he survived.
Located in North Georgia, just 60 miles from Atlanta, the more than 600 miles of shoreline borders five counties, including Hall, Forsyth, Dawson, Gwinnett, and Lumpkin making it the largest lake in the state of Georgia.
An estimated seven million people visit the lake each year for recreational activities, including swimming, fishing, boating and more.
