Boat bursts into flames after circling and 'harassing' passengers on yacht waving gay pride flags

Video footage has captured the moment a boat burst into flames on Sunday, after after its crew allegedly circled and harassed passengers on a yacht which was waving pride and transgender rights flags.

TikTok video shows a boat speeding past a yacht on Moses Lake in Washington, with one woman appearing to give the passengers the middle finger.

The boat then continued past the yacht, but soon, smoke could be seen rising from their vessel.

The two passengers swam towards the larger vessel as their speed boat caught on fire.

A caption on the video read:  ‘Karma hits boaters who harassed and spun circles around our boat after they saw our pride flags’.

The video ends with the yacht pulling away as the speedboat goes up in flames

The video ends with the yacht pulling away as the speedboat goes up in flames

In a viral video, a speedboat speeds past a yacht waving pride and transgender rights flags

 In a viral video, a speedboat speeds past a yacht waving pride and transgender rights flags

The video, which has gone viral with more than 1.5 million likes on the video platform, ends with an image of the burnt speedboat.

It was uploaded by TikTok user UhOhBigBoi with the caption: ‘We safely got them out of the water immediately. We were nicer than they were #karma.’  

It is unclear from the video what transpired before the boaters passed the ship and gave them the middle finger.

Another passenger also posted the video and photos of the altercation to Twitter, writing, ‘These people harassed my family because we were flying gay pride flags in Moses Lake Washington, by racing around us and shouting gay slurs. Then, their boat literally blew up! #KarmaIsReal’

Soon after, smoke starts to rise from the boat

Soon after, smoke starts to rise from the boat

The passengers on board swim towards the yacht as their speedboat catches fire

The passengers on board swim towards the yacht as their speedboat catches fire

The speedboat wound up being burnt to a crisp, as seen in the viral video

The speedboat wound up being burnt to a crisp, as seen in the viral video

A Twitter user, who asked to be referred to as 'Robbie' tweeted about a speedboat bursting into flames at Lake Moses in Washington, alleging it occurred after the passengers circled their vessel and harassed them for their gay pride and transgender rights flags

A Twitter user, who asked to be referred to as ‘Robbie’ tweeted about a speedboat bursting into flames at Lake Moses in Washington, alleging it occurred after the passengers circled their vessel and harassed them for their gay pride and transgender rights flags

Speaking to Buzzfeed News, the Twitter user, who only identified himself as ‘Robbie’ to protect his family, said he was on the boat with his girlfriend, his brother and his brother’s partner flying multiple LGBTQ and transgender rights flags when they heard the other boat approaching and saw the woman flip them off.

‘Then the boat quickly made a sharp turn back towards us and went around us,’ Robbie told Buzzfeed. ‘I then … personally heard someone shout what I thought to be the word ‘gays’ so I asked my brother to pull out his phone and blatantly start recording in hopes that it would avoid conflict if they noticed.’

He said the other boat drove around them six or seven times, causing extensive waves.

‘They then attempted to speed away as they left a large cloud of smoke surrounding the area we occupied,’ Robbie said. ‘After a moment, we heard a loud backfire and a sputter come from the boat.

‘Though I could not see the boat in the direction, I could see a cloud of black smoke rising quickly.’

‘The driver, possible embarrassed, then rushed to start the vehicle again,’ Robbie recounted. ‘Another few moments pass and we hear an incredibly loud explosion come from the direction they were headed.

‘Our driver shouted: “Holy c***, they blew up!’

At that point, Robbie said he and his family went on to rescue the passengers. 

The Grant County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook that they were looking to speak to those who posted the video and tweeted the incident for more information

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that they were looking to speak to those who posted the video and tweeted the incident for more information

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office has since confirmed a boat fire occurred Sunday at around 7:45 p.m., with Sheriff Tom Jones telling Buzzfeed that deputies and the local fire department responded to the scene, where they extinguished the flames and towed the scorched boat to shore.

Jones said he does not yet know what caused the fire, but deputies on the scene were told it came from the engine compartment in the middle of the speedboat.

‘The passengers from the boat that caught fire swam and boarded the boat they were circling,’ Jones confirmed to Buzzfeed, noting that the boat owner and the passenger boat sustained burns, but refused medical treatment.

In a post to Facebook on Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department said: ‘As of right now, we are trying to make contact with the occupants of the vessel being circled so we can interview them to find out what happened. 

‘We would like to know more, and once we can interview people, we will be able to know more without relying solely on a brief video,’ the office reported.

Anyone with information about the incident can call Jones at (509) 750-7301 or email him at [email protected]

source: dailymail.co.uk