Two Killed as Pleasure Boat Explodes and Burns Off Baja

A fire and explosion erupted aboard a 67-foot pleasure boat anchored off the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico, killing two men and injuring three others, authorities said Sunday.

The dead were identified as Dr. Vince Oronzi of Kentfield, a Northern California community in Marin County, and Oakland attorney Jacob Levitan, who lived in San Francisco, Coast Guard Lt. Dennis Fahr said in Long Beach. The two men were unable to escape a stateroom where they had been sleeping.

The fire and explosion aboard the “Anticipation” erupted in the craft’s engine compartment early Saturday off Cabo San Lucas, a popular fishing and vacation spot, Fahr said.

Most Able to Escape

Three of the seven men aboard suffered burns and smoke inhalation in the fire. The boat’s captain and a crewman escaped uninjured.

George Pasha Jr., whose 53-year-old father from San Rafael was aboard the craft but survived, told Coast Guard authorities about the incident, Fahr said.

Skipper Dave Hagerman and crewman Chris Rodgerson, both of Los Angeles, smelled smoke drifting through the vessel about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Fahr said. As they moved up from crew quarters toward the bridge, they noticed that the salon and galley were fully involved in flames, he said.

Hagerman and Rodgerson broadcast a warning over the ship’s intercom system, then jumped overboard and began banging on the hull, trying to warn the passengers, Fahr said.

The survivors “made it out through the portholes on the side of the vessel,” Fahr said.

The vessel eventually sank.

Taken to San Diego

The survivors were airlifted to San Diego.

Pasha was listed in serious condition at the UC San Diego Medical Center with second- and third-degree burns over 40% of his body, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Bill Snorski, 59, of Bellevue, Wash., was in serious condition suffering from burns to his face and thighs and smoke inhalation, the spokeswoman said. Al Modena, 53, a Northern California resident, was also said to be in serious condition.

The boat’s home port was listed as Wilmington, Del., although it was owned by the Pasha Group Corp. with an address in San Francisco, Fahr said.

Coast Guard officials were investigating the fire.