If there's already a thread, I didn't see it.

A yacht explosion on Lake Norman leaves several injured, student missing

Quote :

"Nathan Coppick, a junior in engineering and employee at at Lake Norman marina, is presumed dead as a result of a boating accident on Tuesday afternoon, according to reports from various news outlets in the Charlotte area. The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday that the explosion, which occurred while Coppick was refueling an 80-foot yacht, blew out the windows of the boat and spilled gasoline into the water near the pier. The owner of the boat and two other employees escaped the boat and swam to safety, but Coppick could not be located following the containment of dangerous chemicals by cleanup crews. In an interview with Technician Wednesday afternoon, Larry Seagle, the public information officer for the Lincoln County sheriff's office, said the search is ongoing and recovery crews would be attempting to pull the boat from the water on Wednesday to investigate the cause of the explosion. 'There are two cranes that will be lifting the boat out of the water and dry docking the boat,' he said. 'They are not going to be looking for him while they are moving the boat around because they do not want to jeopardize the safety of anyone else by having them in the water.' On Wednesday morning, WCNC TV of Charlotte reported that crews that had been searching for Coppick on Tuesday had shifted the goal of their search from a rescue mission to a recovery mission. 'The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is the lead agency in the investigation," Seagle said. "Right now, he is missing and presumed dead.'"

http://tinyurl.com/42tdr9

RIP

PS:

N.C. State student's body recovered in Lake Norman boat explosion

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3030490/

[Edited on June 12, 2008 at 3:48 AM. Reason : .]

6/12/2008 3:40:54 AM

pray for that dude...

6/12/2008 3:46:13 AM

I just saw the pictures of him on WRAL--I think I met him on the Brickyard once a few weeks ago.

6/12/2008 3:50:07 AM

I was thinking Griffey when I first saw this thread

I thought "well at least he got to 600 first"

6/12/2008 4:06:56 AM

Condolences to his family and his NCSU family

6/12/2008 5:22:59 AM

from http://jayski.com

Quote :

"Former NASCAR Crew Chief Escapes Injury In Boat Explosion: Former NASCAR crew chief Cliff Champion and three other people escaped serious injury Tuesday when the 80-foot charter boat Champion operates on Lake Norman exploded, but a 19-year-old man who was refueling the boat when the blast occurred was still missing at nightfall. Champion's company -- Championship Yacht Charters -- had just finished a graduation party cruise with about 60 people when the blast occurred. The partiers had exited the three-story boat and were getting into their cars when the 19-year-old man began refueling the yacht at Westport Marina. Champion was Benny Parsons' crew chief 1983-86 and it was during this time that the team he headed won the Ingersoll-Rand Pit Crew Championship. He also worked with Alan Kulwicki and long-time friend Ricky Rudd before deciding to start his charter business on Lake Norman about a decade ago. In his business, he worked closely with the racing community, providing charters for competitors, sponsors, race teams and Lowe's Motor Speedway. On May 17, he hosted an Appreciation Day for the Armed Forces, providing a day of cruises for troops from Fort Bragg and Fort Jackson and Marines from Camp Lejeune.(see full story at GoFastNews.com and updates at wsoctv.com)(6-12-2008)"

6/12/2008 5:32:47 AM

when you said Junior, I thought you meant Dale Earnhardt Jr.

6/12/2008 11:18:53 AM

RIP

6/12/2008 11:19:47 AM

and RIP for Nathan Coppick.

6/12/2008 11:20:25 AM

GD I wonder what they found of him

6/12/2008 11:30:18 AM

BTTT

6/12/2008 6:06:43 PM

he lived next to me 2006/07 school year, very smart kid, real nice too

6/12/2008 6:51:33 PM