Tourist catamaran catches fire in Columbia

A boat with 92 people on board, including 89 tourists and three crew members, caught fire in Colombia. Terrified travelers began to jump into the sea.

The fire was caused by a short circuit in one of the engines of the tourist boat Katamaran Tayrona, which set off from the coast of Santa Marta on March 3. Terrified travelers began to jump over the railing into the sea from the burning catamaran in order to evacuate. Footage posted online shows thick black smoke rising into the sky and people desperately swimming away from the burning boat.

“They told us to stay calm, but when we saw the smoke and fire, everyone panicked,” said one of the passengers of the Katamaran Tayrona, Carlos Gutierrez. “We were only thinking about how to save ourselves. Some people were injured when they jumped into the water or tried to swim to the rescue boats.”

Rescuers soon arrived at the scene and pulled all the tourists and crew members out of the water. The victims were taken to the Marine Life Center in Santa Marta. There they underwent a medical examination. No serious injuries were reported. Specialists are investigating the causes of the fire.