Boat goes up in flames on Lake Brantley

A fun day of wakeboarding took a sudden turn after a boat explosion on Lake Brantley Sunday afternoon.

The boat was pulled from the water after something exploded in the engine around noon and it caught fire with half a dozen people on board, who had to jump into the water for safety, according to fire officials.

Griffin Prusia was on board during the explosion.

"We heard, like, this gunshot and the boat just blew up in our face," Prusia said.

Eight people were on the lake, 'boarding and hanging out on the medium-sized ski boat when Seminole County Fire officials said the engine caught fire while taking off at full throttle.

Jonathan Green was sitting right on the engine mount when it happened.

"It blew up, I shot out, it was crazy," Green said. 

Green wasn't hurt. His friends jumped off the boat to get away from it. 

Joseph Acosta was also on the boat during the explosion.

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt ... I was getting pulled, me and my buddy were getting pulled, so I swam back on the boat, gave everybody life jackets, threw the boards out so everyone would have a flotation device," Acosta said.

"That was probably one of the best things that happened, getting everyone away from the danger to begin with," Lt. Dave Williams with Seminole Co. Fire and Rescue said.

Williams said fire crews didn't want fuel leaking into the lake, so they had to let the boat burn.

While they set up equipment to catch the fuel before it could spread, the flames made quite a show from the shore.

"Unfortunately they had to watch their boat burn," Williams said. 

"It was unexpected. We were all just wakesurfing, having a good time and there was a large explosion and the boat just caught on fire," Green said. 

Everyone is OK. Two people were burned slightly on their legs, but they didn't need to be hospitalized. 

The boat, however, is a total loss.