Sugar Grove woman rescues 2 after boat explodes on Lake Michigan near Waukegan: 'It was very scary'

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) -- A Sugar Grove woman jumped into action Tuesday to save two men on a burning boat in Lake Michigan.

Tonia Logan said she was out on the lake with family and friends on a pontoon boat, enjoying the day, when they heard an explosion.

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With no other boats on the water, she said she never second-guessed her decision to spring into action.

"We knew we had to do something as soon as we saw the smoke because we knew there were people in there," Logan said.

She recounted the horrifying moments during which a day on the lake with family and friends took a fiery turn.

"It was a faint (noise) because we were pretty far away," Logan said. "There was an explosion and something bad was going on."

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said the power boat exploded around 3 p.m. Tuesday, seriously injuring two men near a power plant at the end of Greenwood Avenue in Waukegan, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky.

Evelyn Wieringa recorded the scary scenes from her cellphone.

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"It felt like a movie because I've never seen it before, and these guys were hurt," she said.

Logan said she knew they had to take action when they saw the heavily damaged boat, with no other vessels out on the water.

The two boaters could be seen wearing life jackets in the water, away from their burning boat.

Logan said they loaded the injured boaters on the pontoon boat, and rushed them to Waukegan Harbor, where they met first responders.

"It was very scary, but we know God put us there for a reason to help support them," Logan said. "We said a prayer as soon as we got them on the ambulance."

She said the story could have ended much differently had they not been on the water.

"Always help someone if you can, whatever we can do to help support others, and just love each other and help each other," Logan said.

The Lake County Sheriff's office said the 46-year-old man from Washington and 55-year-old man from Franklin Park were taken to Vista East Medical Center in serious condition with burns and smoke inhalation.

The 25-foot fiberglass hull powerboat burned for about 90 minutes before sinking, the sheriff's office said.

The U.S. Coast Guard of the Great Lakes said there was no known pollution associated with the explosion and fire.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the Illinois Conservation Police, and the boat was a total loss.