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Boat Operator Released From Burn Center After Tega Cay Explosion

TEGA CAY, S.C.,None — The operator of a boat that caught fire and exploded at the Tega Cay Marina has been released from a burn center, Channel 9's newspaper partner, the Herald in Rock Hill, reported.

Angel Lopez, 47, and his family were boating on Lake Wylie on July 13 when the explosion happened. Lopez, his wife, three sons and a family friend were on the 37-foot cabin cruiser when it caught fire.

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Lopez and his 11-year-old son were taken to the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill. The boy remains in the burn center. He has had several surgeries and more are scheduled, Lt. Robert McCullough with South Carolina's Department of Natural Resources told the Herald.

Officials were able to speak to Lopez for the first time this week to try to piece together what caused the explosion, McCullough said.

They still have not been able to determine what caused the explosion. A preliminary investigation determined the boaters had refueled and pulled away from the dock when it happened.

"We know some spark hit gas fumes and it blew up. We just don't know how," McCullough told the Herald. "Knowing that it happened is one thing. Knowing how is another. We may get to the point where we have a good guess of what happened, but we may never know."

Previous Stories: July 27, 2011: 4 Injured When Boat Explodes

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