ONE KILLED IN BAHAMAS BOAT EXPLOSION IDENTIFIED AS TENNESSEE WOMAN
The American tourist who was killed in a boat explosion in the Bahamas on Saturday has been identified as a resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Maleka Grimes Jackson was killed when the boat burst into flames.
The boat, traveling off the island of Exuma, roughly 130 miles south of Nassau, was carrying 12 passengers at the time of the explosion.
Several people were injured in the blast. One of the other American tourists, recent college graduate and dancer Stefanie Schaffer, had to have both of her legs amputated after she sustained life-threatening injuries.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it provided assistance, transporting four American citizens to Florida after the explosion. The Coast Guard said it sent an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew with two medical personnel to transport the boaters to Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg.
The cause of the blast remains under investigation by the Exuma branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, according to the Coast Guard.