By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2026-08-30 20:10:29 | Updated at 2026-08-30 22:01:04
1 hour ago
A popular teen cheerleader was killed on a Caribbean vacation with her family when their tour boat exploded, leaving her with horrific fatal burns on almost two-thirds of her body.
Abigail Lainton, known as Abbie, a 16-year-old from the UK, died in a hospital in the Dominican Republic three days after the boat she was on caught fire July 27.
The teenager’s body was returned to to the UK, and an inquest hearing showed that she died of septic shock caused by septicemia as a result of pulmonary edema, the Sun reported.
Abbie suffered first- and second-degree burns over 60% of her body when the pleasure cruiser packed with tourists exploded near Cotubanama National Park.
Around 35 people were on board when smoke first started billowing from the boat before it exploded as it made its way back from a trip to the popular island of Saona.
Abbie was rushed to a local hospital in La Romana along with 10 others, but her condition deteriorated, and she died on the evening of July 30, the Sun reported.
A total of 24 people were injured in what officials in the DR described as a “tragic accident.”
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, but boat-trip organizer Go Paradise DR said it “was declared by the authorities to be an accident caused by a mechanical failure.”
The “overpacked” boat reportedly “smelled like gasoline” before the blast, according to passengers Gisell Segovia and her husband, Navin Torres.
“The front of the boat exploded. It took me a couple of seconds to analyze what was going on [when] the fire started spreading toward me and my wife,” Torres told the Sun.
“All I remember was like hearing a pop noise. And then the people sitting on the left side of the boat, they flew off their seats, including the benches that they were sitting on,” Segovia told the outlet.
Abbie’s two siblings were among the injured, with no updates given on their condition.
A GoFundMe set up to support Abbie’s family has already raised almost 90% of its $40,000 target, with tributes paid to the beloved cheerleader and dancer.
“Abbie had her whole life ahead of her. She should have been enjoying the summer with her friends,” reads the appeal. “She was so loved by her family, friends and everyone who knew her.”
Go Paradise DR said the boat, the Costa Romantica, had “been removed from the booking platforms” after the incident.
“It was an accident at sea and was very tragic,” a local official said.
