TAMPA — A casino company said Monday that it had never had a problem with a shuttle boat that erupted in flames off Florida’s Gulf Coast, leading to the death of a female passenger.

A spokeswoman for Tropical Breeze Casino, Beth Fifer, said the company does not know what caused Sunday’s blaze, which gutted the boat and forced about 50 passengers to jump into the chilly waters off Port Richey.

‘‘We are deeply saddened for the loss of our passenger, the 14 injured, and anyone else who was affected by this tragedy,’’ Fifer said.

Kurt Conover, a spokesman for Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, said the passenger arrived at the emergency room at 10 p.m. Sunday and died shortly afterward. He said she had apparently gone home after the fire but became ill.

Kevin Doll, spokesman for Pasco County’s sheriff, said the victim was 42. Her name was not released and a cause of death had not been determined.

Conover said eight others were treated at the hospital.

Port Richey Police Chief Gerard DeCanio said the shuttle boat experienced engine problems after leaving the dock at Port Richey, a suburb about 35 miles from Tampa. As the vessel turned back, flames kicked up and people began jumping overboard into shallow water, according to witness accounts.

Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Michael De Nyse said investigators will determine the cause of the fire and examine the history of the boat.

Helicopter video taken by WTSP-TV Monday shows the boat burned down to its hull. It regularly carries people to and from Tropical Breeze’s offshore casino, about a 45-minute ride into international waters, where passengers can play games such as black jack, which is illegal at non-Indian casinos in Florida, and roulette, which is illegal statewide.

The boat caught fire about 4 p.m. Sunday and was quickly engulfed.

Larry Santangelo, 57, said he had just driven into his neighborhood when he saw smoke and fire and thought a house — possibly his own — was ablaze. He realized it was the boat, about 100 yards offshore.

He told the Tampa Bay Times that people wandered about confused, wet, and cold after they reached land. A woman collapsed upon reaching shore and vomited, he said.

Santangelo said he took about 30 passengers into his garage to warm up and recover.

‘‘It was so windy, and they were soaking wet,’’ Santangelo said. He worried that some might suffer from hypothermia.

The fire sent a huge plume of dark black smoke into the sunny skies on a chilly day in the Tampa Bay area.

‘‘It looked pretty dramatic because the shuttle boat burned really fast,’’ DeCanio said Sunday.

Another witness told the Tampa Bay Times the shuttle boat passes regularly by his family’s home. He knew something was wrong when he saw smoke and heard shouts and screams.

‘‘They didn’t have much time to decide whether or not to jump,’’ said Bakr Jandali, 19, who was at his home nearby. ‘‘The fire was moving fast. It was a hard jump.’’

Jandali said passengers had to jump about 12 feet from the boat and wade through waist-deep water to shore.

There, residents gave them aid.

‘‘All of us, my family and the neighbors, brought them towels and water,’’ Jandali said. ‘‘They were so cold.’’

News footage showed bedraggled survivors cloaked in blankets trying to warm themselves afterward.

The boat was identified in newspaper reports as the Island Lady, a 72-foot wood-hull vessel  that Fifer said had been inspected by the Coast Guard.