The chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe was injured Thursday in a watercraft accident.

According to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Chief James Allan of Worley had finished fueling his Kawasaki personal watercraft at Black Rock Marina in Rockford Bay about 5 p.m. He started it and upon depressing the throttle, the PWC exploded, throwing him into the water.

His daughter, who was on another PWC, went into the water to assist him until emergency personnel arrived, a press release said.

Allan was transported for Kootenai Health for non-life threatening injuries, the release said.

Tyrel Stevenson, Coeur d'Alene Tribe legislative director, said the explosion broke several bones in Allan's arms and lower legs.

Stevenson said Allan is doing well and expected to make a full recovery.

"He feels very lucky that the injuries were not more severe given the force of the explosion and most importantly no one else was hurt," according to a statement sent to tribe employees Friday. "As always, he loves the Tribe and the entire Tribal family and appreciates all the well wishes from the community."

Stevenson said Allan still has a direct line of communication with other tribal leaders, so operations are expected to continue as usual.

"But you can't replace him," Stevenson said.

Allan served as tribe chairman from 2005 to 2018, and from June 2020 to present. He was unanimously re-elected as tribe chairman in May.

KCSO's dive team, Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police, and the Worley Fire Department responded to the accident.

The KCSO said it would like to remind PWC operators to ventilate the engine compartment by removing the seat for at least four minutes prior to starting it.

"This allows fumes to dissipate from the hull of the watercraft, and prevents combustion," the release said.