Boy Burnt In Jet Ski Accident
Sun Herald
Sunday August 31, 2008
A TEENAGER who suffered burns to nearly half his body in a jet ski fire was probably saved by his lifejacket, his sister said yesterday.
Josh Ritchie, 16, was enjoying Friday's public holiday in Queensland with friends on the Nerang River when their boat ran out of fuel at about 5.30pm. Josh, an experienced jet skier with a boating licence, jet skied to shore at Broadbeach Waters to retrieve fuel. But before he made it back to his friends, his jet ski caught fire. He suffered serious burns to his arms, legs and face and is in a stable condition in Royal Brisbane Hospital with burns to 40 per cent of his body.The Gold Coast teen's sister Jade, 22, said her family was still recovering from the shock of the "freak accident".Josh, a year 10 student at All Saints Anglican School, is completing a school-based apprenticeship with a local jet ski business.Ms Ritchie said her brother had been a "water baby his whole life", driving tinnies since about age 10.She said her brother believed the fire started in the front half of the jet ski. It is unclear whether the spare fuel was in the front storage compartment or at the rear.Josh jumped into the water and had to swim through flames to get clear of the wreckage, Ms Ritchie said.She said he was fortunate not to sustain a knock to the head "or he could have gone to the bottom [of the river]".A local doctor who was passing in a tinnie helped Josh to dry land before calling for an ambulance. It wasn't until Josh's parents, Bryan and Julia, placed him under a cold shower, fully clothed, that the extent of his injuries became known."He said he couldn't feel the pain in his legs. He was more worried about his ... friends who were still on the boat," Ms Ritchie said."His life jacket probably saved him from burns to his chest and stomach, and luckily he doesn't have any eye damage ... but I am more concerned about him getting an infection."Ms Ritchie said a neighbour later went out to tow the other boat in. No one on the other boat was injured.A Department of Emergency Services spokesman said the jet ski had drifted a few kilometres downriver and sank shortly after fire crews extinguished the blaze.Ms Ritchie said her brother and friends regularly carried fuel on jet skis and it was "generally quite safe".Denny Moran, the service manager at Jet Ski World, said it was only the second time he had heard of a jet ski catching fire in the 20 years he had worked in the industry.
© 2008 Sun Herald
