7 injured after Fourth of July boat explosion on Georgia's cursed Lake Lanier

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News on Jul 5, 2025

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Seven people were left injured after a fiery boat explosion on Lake Lanier, a notorious body of water in Georgia where hundreds of others have perished, according to authorities.

Of those hurt, five were hospitalized, including a child who was airlifted to a nearby medical facility following the blast.

The incident occurred Friday, with first responders racing to the so-called cursed lake, located 60 miles north of Atlanta, around 7 p.m., according to 11 Alive.

Police said the 23-foot cabin cruiser was heading for the Margaritaville resort at Lake Lanier Islands when it suddenly exploded.

Video from the scene shows flames as high as five feet tall overwhelming the boat, sending thick plumes of black smoke over the nearby shoreline.

“The operator towing the boat rescued all seven people and took them to waiting paramedics at Margaritaville,” the state’s Department of Natural Resources said in a statement.

None of the victims have been identified and their exact conditions were not provided. They range in age from 5 to 45 years old, many of them suffering severe burns.

Lake Lanier is a man-made body of water, built in the 1950s atop the once-thriving Black neighborhood of Oscarville. It was created by flooding valley communities, which contained a cemetery, a fact that has fueled beliefs that the waters are cursed. And while the Marine Corps at the time worked to remove and relocate the marked graves, experts speculate there were plenty of unmarked burial plots in the area.

In the decades since, more than 200 people have died on the lake, with incidents ranging from boating accidents and drownings to explosions, according to state data. Locals have also reported strange disappearances, ghost sightings and even alien encounters.

The tragedies and mysteries of the lake have recently been featured in the Netflix docuseries “Files of the Unexplained,” as well as the Prime Video documentary “Surviving Lake Lanier.”

An investigation into the cause of Friday’s blast is ongoing.