Boat explosion at Lake Powell kills 1, injures 4

SALT LAKE CITY — One woman is dead and four other people are critically injured after a nighttime explosion on a houseboat along the Utah-Arizona border, authorities said Thursday.

A generator exploded about 10 p.m. Wednesday as a large group that included about 20 other people vacationed on a privately owned boat on Lake Powell, authorities said.

A 52-year-old woman was killed and four other people were flown to hospitals in Grand Junction, Colorado, and Salt Lake City in critical condition, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area spokeswoman Mary Plumb said.

They suffered broken bones, burns and facial injuries, she said.

Someone was trying to start the generator in the Crystal Springs Canyon area when it suddenly exploded, Sheriff Rick Eldredge of San Juan County, Utah, said in a statement.

The boat was anchored on shore in the area without road access, Plumb said.

The National Park Service and sheriff’s office are investigating.

Identities of the people involved weren’t immediately released.

The man-made Lake Powell is one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S. and is a popular destination for recreation. At nearly 200 miles (322 kilometers) long and with more than 1,900 miles (3,058 kilometers) of shoreline and nearly 100 major side canyons, it attracted more than 3 million visitors last year.