A British man and his six-year-old son suffered horrific burns after their speedboat exploded into a fireball during a holiday in Brazil.
Robbie Weich, 39, and his son Luca were left with second degree burns after becoming trapped on the boat when it caught fire.
Mr Weich’s wife, Renata and their two friends were hurled in to the river by the force of the blast.
The drama unfolded after the family from Maida Vale decided to take a river trip from the northern Brazilian city of Belem, capital of the state of Para.
Just 30 seconds into the trip their boat was rocked by a massive explosion.
“We realised we were literally on fire,” said Mr Weich, who was badly burned on his forearm, face and legs.
His cousin was also on board and the pair jumped into the water. But in the chaos he did not realise his son was still on board with a friend, who was holding onto him.
Luca was eventually rescued but he was already badly burnt on his forearms.
The injured were all pulled out of the water and rushed to the nearest state hospital in Belem after the accident in July.
There were not enough beds for all of them in the burns unit so Mr Weich ended up in a general ward, lying next to casualties who had been shot and stabbed.
As well as enduring the agonising burns, Mr Weich was also battling a dangerous infection he picked up in the water.
Due to the severity of his burns, he was airlifted 6,000 miles back to London for specialist treatment at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
Mrs Weich stayed on in Brazil with Luca who was discharged after spending a week in hospital.
Mr Weich said: “His burns really healed so well - he has had no scarring.
“We are all home now and recovering well with no lasting damage or permanent scarring.’
Mr Weich, who runs his own business importing wood from Brazil, has since won a brand new Porsche Cayenne 4x4 in a competition.
“You think you would run up and down about it, but when it happened to me I was basically in shock,” he said. “I think after the accident you start to think that I could have died. Life is too short.”
