Blast and fire damage yacht

AO MAKHAM: A fire broke out this morning on a 4-million-baht sailing yacht berthed at Ao Yon, causing damage estimated at 1 million baht. The fire started at 7 am aboard the ketch “Red Moon”. Pol Lt Col Teerapol Thipjaroen, acting superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that villagers heard an explosion before the yacht began to burn, and called 191. The fire took about 90 minutes to extinguish. The owner, 66-year-old Australian Frank Hill, sailed to Phuket from Langkawi on September 23. He was staying in Chalong while the yacht was being refitted in preparation for a voyage to Africa. “Mr Hill told me that he worked on the engine yesterday, and left at 6 pm,” Lt Col Teerapol said. “The cause of fire was probably either a short circuit or a defective battery that exploded.” The fire damaged the cockpit, the saloon, the galley and the aft mast.