Speedboat bursts into flames at holiday hotspot

A group of people aboard a speedboat have been forced to leap for their lives after the vessel ignited in South Australia.

Video showed flames engulfing the boat in the middle of the River Murray at Blanchetown late yesterday afternoon.

Three people aboard had seconds to jump into the water to escape the blaze.

“One of my mates yelled ‘fire’, I turned around and there was a little bit of smoke,” witness Michael O’Connor told 9NEWS.

“Before you know it, the boat was up in flames. Completely gone.”

Fellow onlooker, jet ski rider Kym Mattner, said it was “scary seeing people in the river screaming”.

Mr O’Connor said witnesses were quick to launch a rescue mission.

“I pulled two people and brought them to the bank, then back to the campsite. They were very shaken up,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms Mattner and her friend used their jet skis to douse the flames from the boat fire.

“We were just worried about the boat exploding,” she said.

One woman on the boat was taken to hospital with burns to her feet, while the two others aboard and children nearby escaped injury.

9NEWS has spoken to the woman burnt in the blaze, who said she was “thankful her injuries aren't more serious”. She also praised the holidaymakers who rushed to her aid.

Ms Mattner said “anyone would do the same thing”.

“You just do what you got to do. They were lucky no-one got really hurt.”

The cause of the fire remains unknown.