Boat explodes in viral video after boaters allegedly harassed vessel flying pride flags

A boat carrying a group of people who were reportedly harassing a family for having LGBTQ+ pride flags spontaneously blew up over the weekend in Washington state, BuzzFeed News reported.

Video of the incident, which took place on Moses Lake, went viral on TikTok and Twitter after users shared it to the social media platforms.

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 pic.twitter.com/cN7L74pHS6

— ️‍⚧️ℂ ℝ⭐ (@retro_ushi_) May 31, 2021

“These people harassed my family because we were flying gay pride flags,” the user wrote. “Then, their boat literally blew up!” 

They added the hashtag “#KarmaIsReal.”

The TikTok video shows the group approaching the family’s boat, with various people on board holding up their middle fingers. Their boat is then seen billowing smoke, with large flames shooting up as the passengers swim in the water with life vests on.

According to BuzzFeed, the occupants of the burned boat swam to the boat they had been harassing for safety.

The incident took place a few days before the start of Pride Month, which celebrates LGBTQ+ culture.

The person who filmed the encounter posted another video on Tuesday showing them back on the water with their rainbow flag flying.

And we’re back at it again! We will not hide our #pride pic.twitter.com/Fp9rbCNVmy

— ️‍⚧️ℂ ℝ⭐ (@retro_ushi_) June 1, 2021

“And we’re back at it again!” they wrote. “We will not hide our #pride.”

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office told BuzzFeed that the boat fire began Sunday around 7:45 p.m. local time. Authorities extinguished the fire once they arrived on the scene and towed the remains of the boat back to shore.

“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,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “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.”