Local Man Injured When Sea Doo Explodes in Maine

A Danvers man was injured at a marina on a Maine lake Saturday when his Sea Doo personal watercraft exploded.

It hapenned at 4:50 p.m. at the Long Lake Maina in Naples. Karl Marchionda, 31, from Danvers was injured after the Sea Doo GTX155 personal watercraft he was attempted to start exploded.

The Maine Warden Service said Marchionda had just put 10 gallons of gas into a the PWC and was attempting to start it when it exploded while he was seated on the the PWC in the water.

Marchionda was the only person on the Sea Doo when it exploded, the Warden Service said.

Witnesses told the Warden Sevice that Marchionda was launched about 20 feet into the air and the cowling of the PWC went about 60 feet before Marchionda landed on the dock face first.

He was taken by ambulance to Bridgton Hospital with non-life threatening injuries to his face.

Marina owner James Davenport quickly extinguished a fire that had started in the hull of the Sea Doo, according to the Warden Service, and Marchionda was not burned.

Game Warden Neal Wykes, who is investigating the incident, said in a press release, that a lock ring securing the fuel lines to the gas tank had become loose. That allowed some fuel to enter the hull of the machine and gas fumes ignited when the machine was started.

Officers from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and rescuers from Naples Fire and Rescue assisted the Warden Service, which continues to investigate the incident.