Explosion Aboard Sailboat Injures 2 Off Catalina Island

AVALON, CA — Sheriff's arson investigators were looking for whatever caused a propane tank aboard a 54-foot sailboat near Avalon on Catalina Island to explode Saturday, sending two people to a burn unit for treatment.

Firefighters were dispatched at 11:07 a.m. to a boat in the Pacific Ocean at Moonstone Beach, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene with a response boat, helicopter and a ship which towed the sailboat back to Avalon, on Catalina Island, Coast Guard officials said.

The two injured people were taken first to Pebbly Beach, where a Mercy Air helicopter took them to the Torrance Hospital Burn Victim Unit, officials said.