Latest news with #SeaRay
Qatar Tribune
23-07-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
QNB, Visa launch credit card drive
Tribune News Network Doha QNB has launched its biggest and most exciting campaign yet for QNB Visa credit cardholders. For the first time ever, customers have the opportunity to win a brand-new luxury apartment on Gewan Island or one of two sporty Sea Ray Boats. This set of grand and unique prizes marks a new industry standard for loyalty rewards and is truly unforgettable for the lucky winners. The campaign, running until October 30, 2025, will reward one lucky customer with the grand prize of a luxury apartment on Gewan Island while two additional customers will be chosen to be the proud owners of the Sea Ray boat. All QNB Visa credit cardholders are eligible to participate, including QNB Life Rewards Visa and co-branded credit cards, which are QNB Harrods Visa, QNB Nojoom Visa, and QNB Qatar Airways Visa. The full set of terms and conditions for the campaign can be found on QNB website. Adel Ali Al-Malki, Senior Executive Vice President of QNB Group Retail Banking, remarked: 'We are extremely proud to unveil this exciting campaign with such incredible prizes, making this year's QNB Visa mega campaign our most exclusive and rewarding campaign to date. This is a truly unique opportunity for our valued customers to be rewarded graciously for all their spending, whether locally or abroad. We re-affirm our commitment to providing the most secure, innovative and rewarding payment forms to our customers and we are confident that the campaign will receive an overwhelming response. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Visa, our long-term strategic partner for the development and launch of this campaign.' Shashank Singh, Visa's VP and General Manager for Qatar and Kuwait, added: 'Visa is dedicated to supporting our clients in delivering memorable and exciting promotions exclusively for Visa cardholders. Campaigns like the QNB Visa Summer Campaign not only provide exceptional rewardsthey also encourage consumers to use their Visa cards for payments. This initiative helps drive the adoption of digital payments in Qatar.' QNB Group currently ranks as the most valuable bank brand in the Middle East and Africa. Through its subsidiaries and associate companies, the Group extends to more than 28 countries across three continents, providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services. The total number of employees exceeds 30,000, operating from approximately 900 locations, with an ATM network of more than 4,800 machines.
CBS News
17-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Fire engulfs two boats at a Coconut Grove marina
As thick smoke billowed into the air, Miami firefighters battled a large boat fire Tuesday morning at the Grove Isles Marina in Coconut Grove. Miami Fire Rescue said the call came in around 7:30 a.m. When fire crews arrived, they found two cruising vessels fully engulfed in flames at the dock, posing a threat to nearby boats. The fire was immediately upgraded, and additional resources, including the Miami Fireboat and a hazardous materials team were called in. Firefighters initiated an aggressive attack while trying to keep the flame from spreading to the surrounding vessels. Within ten minutes, the fire was brought under control. The two boats that caught fire, in the 30 to 40 range, were severely damaged. Miami Fire Rescue said two smaller boats adjacent to them had heat damage to their exterior sides, but no interior damage was reported. The Miami Fire Investigation Unit is working to determine the cause of the fire. No injuries were reported. Latest in a string of boat fires in South Florida South Florida has seen a number of boat fire in recent weeks. On June 6, multiple boats were destroyed or damaged by fire in Sunny Isles Beach. The boats were docked behind an apartment building at 400 Sunny Isles Boulevard, near Oleta River State Park. More than 25 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units fought flames, assisted by crews from Miami Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife. No injuries were reported. On June 4, a fire broke out on a 50-foot docked at 2612 Whale Harbor Lane in Fort Lauderdale. On May 28, there were two boat fires. One was near Port Everglades cut. One person was rescued and treated for burn injuries. The other was an explosion and fire on a 39-foot Sea Ray with 15 people on board. It happened as the boat was heading on the Intracoastal Waterway near Ft. Lauderdale after refueling. Eleven people were taken to the hospital, where one died.
Miami Herald
11-06-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
‘I almost lost my family in one day.' Survivor recounts horror of boat explosion
Cassandra Rivera remembers every detail of the Memorial Day boat ride that led her and her two young sons to be hospitalized with severe burns after the boat burst into flames. 'I was giving my little one, Kash, water, and he looked at me and said 'Mommy, I think something bad is going to happen,'' she said. 'All I could hear on the other side [of the boat] was my husband screaming 'I smell fuel, I smell fuel. Please stop!' A few moments later, the 39-foot Sea Ray exploded in the Intracoastal Waterway off Fort Lauderdale, sending 11 of the 15 passengers on board to the hospital. The boat's operator, 29-year-old Joshua Fifi, died in the hospital days later. Rivera's two sons — 5 year-old Kash and 7-year-old Anthony — were badly burned. Kash has burns on 40% of his body while Anthony has 80%. Rivera sustained burns to roughly 20% of her body. On Wednesday, two weeks after the tragedy, she spoke up about the boat explosion at a press conference at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she and her children have been treated. 'I can't thank them enough. I mean, Jackson saved our lives,' she said. Kash is progressing smoothly in his recovery, with Rivera mentioning he has bouts of delirium due to his young age and trauma left from the explosion. He is expected to be discharged within the next two weeks. Anthony, while conscious and alert, remains intubated. For burns as severe as his, surgeons perform skin transplant surgeries, among other procedures. 'But sometimes the skin is damaged to the point of not being able to heal itself, and then we have to do skin grafting, which is basically a transplant,' said Jackson burn care expert and trauma surgeon Dr. Carl Schulman. 'In extremely, extremely serious cases, there are companies and labs that grow thin layers of skin cells . . . We use those in some of the more severe cases.' Rivera has been discharged from her week-and-a-half stay at Ryder's intensive care unit, and her burns, covering her shoulders, hands, thighs and toes, are healing steadily. She and her husband, Antonio Rivera, who sustained minor burns in the boat explosion, spend most of their days at their sons' bedsides at Ryder. 'I sleep on a cot beside my son's bed. If he needs anything, I get up,' said the mother. 'I'm glad I'm going through [rehab] before my boys are . . . I can relate to them, and I know exactly how they're feeling, so I can comfort them a little bit more.' Rivera said she and her husband knew the owner of the boat, who had invited them to on the excursion. She didn't name the boat's owner. 'It was a private boat. We knew the owner of the boat, and we thought when we were going out, it was just going to be us, the owner and the captain of the boat,' she said. 'The captain of the boat invited all his friends, so all the other victims and burn survivors are not our friends. We met them that day.' Gas vapors likely cause of explosion: Fire Rescue Fort Lauderdale fire officials say fuel vapors in the engine compartment of the inboard-engine boat were the likely culprit of the fire. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state police agency investigating the blast, said the explosion happened when Fifi started the port, or left, engine around 5:45 p.m. that day. The incident remains under investigation, according to the FWC. The Rivera family says they are exploring their legal options as they wait for more information from the agency. Unfortunately, cases like Rivera's are the extreme end of a larger string of boat fires in South Florida. The Sea Ray was the second boat to go up in flames in Fort Lauderdale that week. A 30-foot boat caught fire just off the beach in Fort Lauderdale two days later, on May 28. There was one person on board, who jumped off the vessel and swam to shore before paramedics took him to the hospital to be treated for injuries. Also on Memorial Day, a 48-foot fishing yacht caught fire off Jupiter Inlet. The cause of that fire remains under investigation. And, last Friday, six boats, including a 90-foot vessel, burned up at a Sunny Isles Beach condominium dock. No one was injured in the fire, which was triggered by one boat going up in flames and spreading to five other boats. Boat fires this year Florida averages about 35 boat fires every year, according to data released by the FWC. So far this year, there have been six boat fires in Fort Lauderdale, according to the city's Fire Rescue Department. Last year, there were 15 boat fires in Fort Lauderdale, up from four in 2021, with 11 each in 2022 and 2023, the department said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue released data to the Herald this week showing it has responded to 11 vessel fires so far this year. Last year, there were 32 boat fires, compared to 27 the year before, and 26 each in 2022 and 2021, according to the department. 'You never know what's going to happen. I didn't expect to get on a boat, after boating my whole entire life, and for it to just explode on me,' said Rivera. She said that while she doesn't plan on boycotting boats anytime soon, it's important to practice safe boating habits to prevent 'fluke accidents' like hers. She also reflected on how her near-death experience has changed her views on the importance of life's moments. 'I almost lost my whole family in one day. It opens up your eyes, and you just have to realize each day is granted to you.'
Miami Herald
06-06-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Boats are bursting into flames in South Florida. How common is this?
Last week, two boats in Fort Lauderdale went up in flames. Friday, six boats were charred at a Sunny Isles Beach dock. READ MORE: Boat engulfed in flames ignites several vessels at Sunny Isles dock: fire rescue So, you've got to be wondering: Do Florida boaters have no clue how to operate a vessel or is this just a random twist of fate? As it turns out, boats going up in flames is not uncommon in a state that is saturated with boats, statistics show. While the number of boat fires are trending higher in Fort Lauderdale — the site of another explosion in December, killing a boater who was fueling up at Lauderdale Marina — statewide, they've actually decreased over the past five years, according to vessel accidents' data compiled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. READ MORE: Boat explodes off the beach in Fort Lauderdale, fire-rescue says So far, in Fort Lauderdale this year, there have been six boat fires, the city's Fire Rescue department said. The department's spokesman, Frank Guzman, noted that 'not all these vessel fires had significant damage.' Last year, there were 15 boat fires in Fort Lauderdale, up from four in 2021, with 11 each in 2022 and 2023, Guzman said. Florida has more registered boats than any other state Florida averages about 35 boat fires a year, according to the FWC, which notes in its latest annual report that the state also has more than 1 million registered vessels for recreation, making it 'the undisputed 'Boating Capital of the World.'' (Michigan has the second-most boat owners.) Over the past five years, boat fire numbers have fluctuated in the state, with 41 in 2020, 37 in 2021, 33 in 2022, and 30 in 2023, the latest data available, the FWC said. Out of the 685 reportable boat accidents in Florida in 2024, 33 stemmed from fires, 17 involving fuel and 16 caused by other factors. The majority of boat accidents in Florida — 209 — involved vessels hitting fixed objects, according to the FWC. Gas vapors likely cause of Sea Ray explosion Fuel was likely the cause of the explosion of a 39-foot Sea Ray cabin cruiser in the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale on Memorial Day. Out of the 15 people on board when a fireball shot out from inside the boat, 11 were hospitalized. The operator of the boat, 29-year-old Joshua Fifi, died days later at the hospital. READ MORE: Father of four dies after Memorial Day boat explosion off Fort Lauderdale Fire officials said the blast was likely caused by fuel vapors that ignited a flash fire when the boat was started. The source of the vapors and ignition is under investigation. It was like 'a fireball,' Guzman said. Boat safety tips Boating experts stress that boaters must open their engine compartment and turn on the blower fan before starting a boat. The fan, which removes gas fumes or any accumulated gasoline, should be run for three to five minutes. Boats have ventilation switches on the dash panel that should be switched on every time a boat is used. And, they add, boaters should take a sniff test and smell for any signs of gas vapors before starting a boat. READ MORE: Two boats exploded off Fort Lauderdale within 5 months. Tips to avoid a similar fate The FWC is still investigating the cause of a 30-foot boat that went up in flames just off the beach in Fort Lauderdale two days later. There was one person on board, who jumped off the vessel and swam to shore before paramedics took him to the hospital to be treated for injuries. There have also been damaging boat fires in other parts of South Florida, the most recent a blaze that ended up burning up six boats, including a 90-foot vessel, at a Sunny Isles Beach condominium dock early Friday morning. No one was injured in the fire, which was triggered by one boat going up in flames and the blaze spreading to five other boats. Authorities are investigating. Boat fire off Jupiter The same day the Sea Ray exploded in Fort Lauderdale, a 48-foot fishing yacht caught fire off Jupiter Inlet. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Three people were on board the vessel when it caught fire, the Coast Guard said in a statement on X. They were rescued by other boaters in the area who responded to the scene. No one was hurt, according to the Coast Guard. And, a May 14 fire at a Tavernier boat yard in the Florida Keys badly damaged several vessels that were dry docked, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘I'm in the water.' 911 calls reveal moments after deadly Broward boat explosion
A flurry of newly released 911 calls shed light on a chaotic and fatal boat explosion off Fort Lauderdale on Memorial Day. Some callers witnessed watching the blast from the shore; others were in the water screaming for help. On May 26, a 39-foot Sea Ray burst into flames in the Intracoastal Waterway, near the large sandbar by the New River. Fourteen people were aboard, but only eleven people — including two young children — were hospitalized with injuries. Some were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn unit in Miami, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said. READ MORE: Boat explodes off the beach in Fort Lauderdale, fire-rescue says Among the injured, Joshua Fifi, a 29-year-old who lived in Fort Lauderdale, died from his injuries. One of the first 911 callers witnessed the blast from the Lauderdale Yacht Club and described the loud explosion, followed by flames and billowing smoke, according to the latest release from Fort Lauderdale Police Department. 'These people flew off the boat,' he said in the call. 'I just saw these people panicking and in the water.' Another caller on a different vessel reported that people were jumping off the sinking boat to the dispatcher. She also began screaming over to them, 'Get off the boat!' One call began with screams and crying, followed by a woman desperately telling dispatchers, 'I'm in the water.' The woman continued to say there was a 'marine emergency' as a boat was on fire. Of those on board, she said there was a passed-out passenger and a pet. 'We're all separated,' she said, adding that nearby boaters were helping them as several people had been burned. 'We have kids on board.'
