A MAN in his sixties was rushed to hospital yesterday morning (Wednesday) suffering from burns following a gas explosion on a boat moored at a jetty along the Inishmore Road in Lisbellaw.
He was later transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital’s burns unit for specialist treatment. 
The explosion on the privately owned craft boat at Johnston Shore was “like a bomb had gone off” according to an eye witness who watched as its roof was “blown open like a tin can.”
The boat was later submerged in Lough Erne. 
A search of the lough, as a precautionary measure, was carried out by Carrybridge RNLI’s crew members Adrian Quigley and Nigel Carson. The station’s rescue water craft was also launched with Kyle Boyd and Jen Bailey onboard as the Irish Coast Guard helicopter searched from the air. However, it was later confirmed that nobody else was on the boat at the time of the gas explosion.
The multi-agency response also included two fire appliances, the police and ambulance service.
Former fireman John, who was in his own boat moored a few yards away when he heard “an almighty bang”, raced to the scene where he found the injured man. “I saw the boat on fire, there was a guy hanging on the inside. There was no roof on the boat, I’ve never seen a thing blown apart like that,” John told The Impartial Reporter. 
“He was conscious and had burns. I assessed that he was talking OK and asked someone to get a fire extinguisher as the gas bottles were starting to flare up.
“At this stage I said he had to come out of there, I pulled him out and got him to the end of the jetty. I got him in the car and took him to the hospital,” he said. 
John said the injured man was complaining about being in pain. 
“He was complaining about a pain in his arm, he told me he went to light the gas ring and it just went bang. I kept talking to him, I wanted to keep talking to him, he was groaning,” he said. 
His injuries are not thought to be life threatening. 
In a statement a spokeswoman for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service reminded boat owners of the need “to ensure that any gas appliances on boats are installed and maintained by a qualified engineer and that carbon monoxide alarms are fitted on boats.”
Carrybridge RNLI’s Chris Cathcart said the call out yesterday “was a good example of multiple agencies responding well together.”
“We would also like to commend the member of the public on the shore who came to his assistance. We would remind all visitors to the lough during the boating season to ensure they do regular checks on their vessels so everything is in working order. When on the water, always wear a lifejacket and always have a means for calling for help,” he said.