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)A woman has been injured in a boat explosion at a Sydney marina that sank a yacht and scattered debris up to 30 metres.
Emergency services were called to the Newport Anchorage Marina on Sydney's northern beaches just before 8:00pm yesterday after reports of an explosion.
The blast was so loud residents reported hearing it several kilometres away.
A 57-year-old woman managed to escape the 46-foot yacht before it sank, with a bystander helping her to safety at a nearby jetty.
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)The woman, who suffered shrapnel injuries to her lower legs, told police she had been sleeping alone on a sofa inside the yacht when the explosion happened.
She was taken to Royal North Shore and is in a stable condition.
Seb Stritt had been at Newport Beach with friends when he heard a "really loud" bang and walked to the marina to investigate the noise.
"On the way here we heard multiple sirens and [police] cars go past so we knew it was a pretty big deal," he said.
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)"When we got here we saw the boat had sunk and the mast was sticking out of the water … quite a bit of debris from the boat and a bit of damage to the marina."
NSW Ambulance Service chief inspector Darren Hoschke described the explosion as "horrific".
"Vision was poor around the marina so paramedics did a terrific job treating the patient in the ambulance," he said.
"The explosion caused enough damage to start to sink the boat. It was relieving to see the patient walk away from the scene."
He said debris was scattered up to 35 metres from the yacht.
Three ambulance crews, police, water police and fire crews responded.
NSW Fire and Rescue Inspector Mark McKay said firefighters used booms to ensure any fuel and debris were contained.
Water police and investigators are on the scene today to determine the cause of the explosion.
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