A childhood good friend of the Quebec man killed in a Florida boat explosion Monday mentioned one of many sufferer’s sisters was among the many different six passengers injured within the blast.
Thi Cam Nhung Lê mentioned 41-year-old Sebastien Gauthier was celebrating the vacations together with his household when the explosion occurred in Fort Lauderdale. Lê mentioned Gauthier’s older sister was additionally on the boat when it erupted into flames, and she or he was taken to a hospital.
“It’s unimaginable, incomprehensible,” Lê mentioned Saturday, including that Gauthier’s household and mutual mates knowledgeable her about his dying.
Lê, 40, mentioned she first met Gauthier in her early adolescence and so they grew up collectively in Quebec Metropolis. She remembers him as a globetrotter who all the time had a smile on his face.
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“He’s nonetheless my finest good friend. It’s all the time him I name if I want one thing, however he’s not with us,” she mentioned.
The final time the 2 mates noticed one another face-to-face was about two years in the past, Lê mentioned, however she final messaged Gauthier on social media within the days earlier than Monday’s explosion.
And on Jan. 1, her birthday, she would have anticipated a name from him, similar to yearly.
“I’m shocked, shocked, and feeling a bit little bit of remorse,” she mentioned. “You remorse not having seen him extra. I spent yesterday crying. You possibly can’t consider your good friend disappears from someday to the following.”
Earlier this week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee confirmed that Gauthier died of his accidents in Broward County. The FWC mentioned its preliminary investigation in Fort Lauderdale confirmed a 37-foot vessel exploded after its engines have been began, injuring all seven passengers on board.
Video posted on social media Monday confirmed the vessel engulfed in flames, with a thick column of black smoke billowing into the sky.
Nonetheless, Florida authorities haven’t offered The Canadian Press with extra details about the investigation.
Trying to find a proof has additionally left Lê indignant. As she mourns the lack of her longtime good friend, she mentioned she’s nonetheless ready for solutions about what led to his sudden dying.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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