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A group of wakeboarders were lucky to survive their boat exploding on the Waikato River yesterday, a fireman said.
The seven-metre boat burst into flames around midday, forcing its five young occupants to leap for safety.
Richard Coventry told the Waikato Times the blast was strong enough to shake his riverside home.
"We were just sitting in the lounge having a cuppa and heard this massive explosion.
"At first we thought it was the Fonterra factory, but then we went outside and saw lifejackets and bodies in the river," he said.
The group told fire services the boat had "just exploded", but Chartwell fire station officer Dave O'Donnell told the newspaper there was evidence someone had been "tinkering" with the engine as tools were stuck to the engine cowling.
He said the five were extremely lucky to survive an explosion of that size with only two of them needing treatment for minor burns.
- NZPA
