LOST BRIDGE — Two explosions rocked the Lost Bridge campground on Beaver Lake and left a Missouri woman dead Friday.
Kayla Woolsey, 23, of Hollister, Mo., was killed when she was thrown from the barge she was standing on. She later was pronounced dead at the scene by Benton County Coroner Daniel Oxford.
The barge was just a few yards away from the campsite of Karen and Dale LaBrue of Denison, Texas.
“We had just pulled in when we heard the explosions,” Karen LaBrue said. “It was awful. He (her husband) had seen they were arc welding.”
Woolsey was with her stepfather, who was welding on the barge. The barge was on a trailer behind a truck labeled with a sign for L&H Dock Service.
“They were apparently unloading and working on docks,” said Deputy Kesha Guyll, public information officer for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. “He started welding on the boat when, we’re pretty sure, a spark ignited fumes causing two explosions. She was thrown from the barge.”
Firefighters from Northeast Benton County Fire/EMS Department were dispatched to a “boat fire” about 1:15 p.m. and later were informed by Benton County Central Communications there was one patient with a possible head injury, according to Capt. Nick Mason.
“We had a fully involved boat fire,” Mason said, adding the barge was still on a trailer behind a truck on land. The Fire Department's boat arrived on the scene to provide water and to later keep a perimeter on the lake side.
Deputies secured the scene and kept people away in case there was another explosion, Guyll said. By about 5 p.m. people were allowed to retrieve their vehicles parked close to where the fire was.
Campers Adam and Kelly Lukens from Wichita, Kan., were pulling into the campground when they heard the explosions and felt the ground shake.
“I’m an RN (registered nurse) so I ran down to help and realized there was nothing I could do,” Kelly Lukens said.
Joshua Stoll of Siloam Springs was kayaking about a mile out on the lake from the site when heard the explosions, he said.
“I heard it, started coming in, then saw black smoke billowing up. As I came in, I realized it was a vehicle on fire,” Stoll said.
Stoll’s Jeep was parked near the Dock Service truck, and he couldn't get to it until late in the afternoon.
Emergency personnel from Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas Game & Fish Commision, the Army Corps of Engineers and Northest Benton County firefighters were on scene for several hours. Robert McGowen with the Benton County Department of Emergency Management arrived to check for hazardous spills.