Dramatic moment the tourist boat explodes on fire with 92 on board, which forces visitors who shout to jump into the sea

Dramatic images show a fire in a boat with 92 people on board, which forced the terrified tourists to jump into the sea.

According to the reports, the fire in the catamaran was caused by a short circuit in one of its engines and extended rapidly throughout the boat that sailed in Santa Marta in Colombia on March 3.

The 89 tourists and three crew members on board were forced to evacuate and filmed jumping on the railing while the boat was wrapped in flames.

A thick black smoke was seen in the sky in images filmed from another boat while the passengers swam frantically away from the burning container.

“They told us that we kept calm, but when we saw smoke and fire, panic seized everyone,” said one of the passengers, Carlos Gutiérrez.

‘We were just thinking of saving each other. There were people who were injured when they jumped into the water or tried to swim in the rescue boats.

Carla Méndez, a tourist from Bogotá, said: ‘He was terrifying. We listened to shouts and saw people jump into the water.

The maritime authorities soon arrived at the scene to deal with the fire and the rescuers collected all tourists and members of the sea crew.

Dramatic images show a fire in a boat with 92 people on board, which forced the terrified tourists to jump into the sea. According to the reports, the fire in the catamaran was caused by a short circuit in one of its engines and extended rapidly throughout the boat sailing in Santa Marta in Colombia on March 3.

It was seen thick rough smoke in the sky in images filmed from another boat while the passengers swam frantically away from the burning container

The 89 tourists and three crew members on board were forced to evacuate and filmed by jumping on the railing

A spokesman for the general maritime management said: “The ship was on a tourist trip when the fire in the propulsion machinery reported so that the emergency protocols were immediately activated.”

The victims were brought back to the marine life center in Santa Marta in northern Colombia.

The captain of the César Grisales port said: “The passengers were transferred to the dock where they received medical checks.”

No serious injuries were reported. An investigation into the cause of the fire is currently underway.

The ship, called Katamaran Tayrona, is owned by the Taximarino company.

One day before the fire, on March 2, a different tourist boat sank in the nearby Rosario Islands.

Forty tourists and three crew members were stranded at sea after the boat overturned and sank near the Rosario Islands

This booklet image published by the Colombian Marina Press Office shows members of the Colombian Coast Guard that rescued tourists after a maritime accident near Cartagena, Colombia, on March 2, 2025

Forty tourists and three crew members were stranded in the sea after the ship overturned and sank.

The Colombian Navy, through its Coast Guard units in Cartagena, responded to the emergency. They were also accompanied by several civil ships in the area.

No deaths or missing people were reported.