The partner of a young Slovakian woman critically injured in a horror boat explosion has recalled the chilling moment it all went horribly wrong.
Mirka Tothova was celebrating her 30th birthday with ten others on board a boat on Easter Sunday when the vessel exploded into flames on the Hawkesbury River Marina near Brooklyn, north of Sydney.
The shop manager from Sydney’s eastern suburbs suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body and was one of four rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
Ms Tothova remains in the intensive burns unit at Royal North Shore Hospital where she will undergo skin grafts.
Her partner of four years Joseph Kwon, 33, was standing on the pontoon pushing the boat off after refuelling when the vessel suddenly exploded.
He recalled the horrifying moment of seeing his girlfriend covered in flames.
Mirka Tothova (pictured) suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body in the horrific explosion
Ale Osr (pictured) remains intensive care eight days after the explosion on Easter Sunday – suffering burns to 60 per cent of her body
‘It’s like we were in a terrorist attack, one minute it was calm, the next it was mayhem,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
‘Mirka’s hair and clothes were on fire, I was patting them out with my hands.’
Mr Kwon described his girlfriend as a fighter after she moved to Australia to start a new life.
‘She moved here five years ago, so it’s hard when she has no family here — we’ve pretty much only got each other,’ Mr Kwon said.
The couple had been celebrating two birthdays and a farewell with friends Mr Kwon had known since primary school when disaster struck.
A two-year-old toddler had been on the deck moments before the boat exploded.
‘You never expect something like this to happen,’ Mr Kwon told 7news.com.au.
‘One moment you’re enjoying life, the next it’s a horrific scenario.’
Friends are desperately trying to raise funds to cover their medical expenses for Ms Tothova and another critically injured woman Ale Osr from Mexico, who suffered severe burns to 60 per cent of her body.
Ms Tothova’s partner Joseph Kwon was standing on the pontoon when the boat erupted into flames
Ale Osr from Mexico also suffered severe burns to 60 per cent of her body after the boat exploded north of Sydney on Easter Sunday
Mirka Tothova from Slovakia was celebrating her 30th birthday at the time the boat caught fire at the Hawkesbury River Marina in Brooklyn
GoFundMe pages has been set up to raise funds for both Ms Osr and Ms Tothova as they cannot claim Medicare to fund their growing medical costs.
Mr Kwon has acknowledged the public support and plans to spend part of the funds raised for Ms Tothova towards flying her family out to Australia.
‘Mirka is currently in the intensive burns unit undergoing skin grafting surgery and multiple other painful treatments,’ a friend wrote on the page set up for Ms Tothova.
The boat exploded when the skipper turned on the ignition, the force knocking those on the stern to the ground
‘Roughly every three days she needs to have her wounds cleaned to remove the dead tissue so she does not get an infection. This is an extremely painful process which causes extreme fever after every procedure.’
‘Mirka is loved by her friends and the local community which she gives so much to, and those that are close to her know how funny she is with her unconventional humour,’ the friend added
‘Mirka is on a bridging visa with no insurance and at this time we don’t know exactly how much the financial burden will be for her long term rehabilitation, loss of income, rent, bills and cost for bringing her family to Australia.
Meanwhile, Ms Osr remains in intensive care.
Friends revealed Ms Osr requires surgery every second day and needs multiple skin grafts as she faces months of rehabilitation.
‘There is no timeframe currently on how long she will be in ICU for, as she is still in a critical condition,’ a friend wrote online.
‘Ale requires surgery roughly every two days to remove dead skin and tissue, and to clean her wounds. To do this, they need to put her under general anaesthetic as it would be too painful if she were awake.
Ms Tothova is currently in intensive care at Royal North Shore Hospital after suffering burns to her hands, arms, legs and torso
‘She will require multiple skin grafts to help heal large areas that have been burnt and extensive surgery and rehabilitation over the next few months.’
The friend said Ms Osr was working at a long day care centre at Gladesville ‘where the families, children and educators all absolutely love and adore her’.
‘Ale is known for her bubbly personality and infectious smile that has the ability to brighten anyone’s day,’ the friend said.
As Ms Osr was in Australia on an international student visa she was not covered by Medicare.
‘We are unsure at this time how much her student medical insurance will cover, however we do know that her medical expenses will be significant and may not be entirely covered,’ a friends of Ms Osr wrote.
‘On top of this, her loss of income, rent, bringing her family to Australia, rehabilitation, and so on, all add extreme financial pressure, something that we would like to support Ale with as much as we can.’
Emergency services rushed to the scene where they found a total of eight people injured and the boat engulfed in flames
NSW Ambulance inspector David Morris said the explosion was the most catastrophic he had seen.
‘It’s one of the worst incidents I’ve seen in my 15-year career in ambulance, and thankfully we had all the other emergency services here to help us out,’ Morris told media after the incident.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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