A boating party had a close call Sunday afternoon when the 34-foot cruiser they were on exploded in fiery flames at a gas dock in Inver Grove Heights.

The explosion around 1:30 p.m. at the River Heights Marina reportedly came from the boat’s engine in the lower mid section of the boat and blew out the windows on the boat. Passengers were able to climb off the boat before the flames spread.

David Stright heard a boom and later saw firefighters working to put out the flames as the boat drifted down river.

“There was a huge plume of smoke below us on the river,” he said.

The owner of the marina, Joe Harms, praised the gas attendant for responding quickly, immediately hitting the emergency shut off button for the pumps and — after seeing the passengers onto the dock safely — setting the boat loose so it would float away from the gas pumps.

“Thank God everybody was okay and nobody got hurt,” Harms said.