DENVER, N.C. – Eastern Lincoln County fire departments were dispatched to Westport Marina on Lake Norman yesterday afternoon to a boat explosion there at the marina.

East Lincoln, Denver, Gilead, and Alexis fire departments all had firefighters assisting in the operation.

A large charter boat ignited sending one man, Nate Coppick, a local teen who worked at the Westport Marina, into the water. Divers will head back into the waters around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning to continue their search.

Crews will also bring a crane to remove the charred boat from the waters.

Firefighters called off their search late Tuesday. Divers searched the waters, but could not find him near the wreckage.

Koppic was pumping gas when something sparked and the boat exploded and caught fire. The smoke from the large fire could be seen for miles.

(Photo: A charter boat continues to sink on Tuesday after it exploded. Photo by Ron McCann. More photos in our Local Photos section. We are continuing to process photos from this tragedy and will post those throughout the day.)

Four other people were on the boat at the time of the explosion and the boat had just docked from an afternoon on the lake for a graduation party charter. The four other people were able to jump in the water to safety.

"We just heard an explosion and the windows shattered. We just ran off the front of the boat," said the boat's owner Cliff Champion.

Rescue workers began searching the immediate area for the missing teen. They had to wait several hours before searching in the water.

There is a concern over spilled fuel and the safety of rescue workers in the area. Up to 150 gallons of gasoline spilled into the water. Divers didn't go in for at least 3 hours after the blast, and searched for about two hours, until it got too dark to continue Tuesday night.

Cleanup crews will start getting the fuel out of the water on Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Agency is also expected to head to the scene and investigate.

Another safety concern became evident when emergency personnel were sent running as the burned boat began to sink rapidly.

Crews are trying to make sure everyone is safe while searching for the missing man at the same time.

One man told our news partner WSOC-TV Channel 9 at one point the burning boat broke free from its mooring and had to be rammed by another boat to keep t from drifting into people docks and boats.

Another man and his sister jumped into the water to help rescue people jumping from the exploding boat.