Boaters leaped into the water to escape an explosive fire that consumed at least 35 vessels docked along the Tennessee River in Alabama early Monday. Authorities said there were fatalities as seven people were sent to hospitals and seven others were initially reported missing. “There were numerous people rescued from the water who had escaped by going into the water,” Jackson County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Rocky Harnen told the Associated Press shortly after dawn. Most of the owners of the boats on the dock that burned lived on their boats permanently, but some mainly spent weekends on them, Durham said. Speaking with the AP shortly after dawn, Durham said there were rescue boats on the water.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 27, 2020 14:26 UTC