Louisiana couple killed in New Year’s Eve boat explosion in Puerto Rico after they returned to the island following a year-long trip sailing around the Caribbean

• Gather (Gate) and Ginna Tannehill had been on their boat when a blaze broke out on the marina of Puerto Real in Cabo Rojo 
• A fire is said to have started in the kitchen of their 42ft long watercraft, dubbed the Miss Adventure Lagoon 
• Friend of the couples added that the Tannehills had just spent a year travelling the Caribbean, returning to Puerto Rico on Christmas Eve
• The couple had planned on making Puerto Rico their forever home

A Louisiana couple living in Puerto Rico died on New Year’s Eve after their catamaran boat exploded and caught fire. 

Gather (Gate) and Ginna Tannehill had been on their boat – a 42ft long watercraft called the Miss Adventure Lagoon – when a blaze broke out on the marina of Puerto Real in Cabo Rojo, local outlet Noti Uno reported. 

Authorities were called about the explosion at round 6.45pm on Tuesday night.

Gather (Gate) and Ginna Tannehill had been on their boat when a blaze broke out on the marina of Puerto Real in Cabo Rojo

A fire is said to have started in the kitchen of their 42ft long watercraft, dubbed the Miss Adventure Lagoon

According to Sergeant Stuart Ares of the Explosives Division of the Mayagüez Police Department, the fire is believed to have started in the boat’s kitchen area. 

He added that Gate’s body was completely burned while his wife died of suffocation from smoke inhalation. The couple are said to be in their 60s.

A friend of the couple’s, Dario Vissepo, took to Facebook and explained that he had just seen the pair at his store prior to their boat catching fire. 

‘We might be back later for your (store) New Year’s party,’ the man said Gina told him moments before she died. 

The couple’s friend added that the Tannehills had just spent a year travelling the Caribbean, returning to Puerto Rico on Christmas Eve. Vissepo said that the couple had planned on making Puerto Rico their forever home

Vissepo shared that he and two others tried to use ‘whimsy boat water hoses’ to quell the fire before firemen arrived on the scene.  

The couple’s friend added that the Tannehills had just spent a year travelling the Caribbean, returning to Puerto Rico on Christmas Eve. 

Vissepo said that the couple had planned on making Puerto Rico their forever home.

‘Gina & Gate where blessed with being such wonderful warmhearted human beings, always with a smile and super friendly,’ the man said of his friends. 

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