One injured in boat engine explosion north of Phuket

PHUKET: Navy officers conducted a helicopter rescue mission north of Phuket after a man was injured in an engine room explosion early this morning aboard a boat transporting olive oil to Myanmar.

Royal Thai Navy Region 3 rescue teams were dispatched by helicopter and speedboat, with a Vachira Hospital medical team in tow, after they received the report of the explosion at about 1:00am.

“We were notified that crew member Pariwat Chuadchum had been severely injured in an explosion and needed medical attention,” Capt Pongjak Uraiman of Royal Thai Navy told the Phuket Gazette today.

“We dispatched a speedboat to meet the transport boat at sea. It was about 132 nautical miles away from Koh Surin when the explosion occurred.”

The speedboat rescue team had to wait until the boat came closer to shore before they could safely depart for the mission, explained Capt Pongjak.

“After the speedboat picked up Mr Pariwat, they returned to Surin island. He was then airlifted to Phuket by helicopter,” Capt Pongjak said.

Mr Pariwat sustained serious injuries to his chest and was having difficulty breathing and unable to move when the rescue team arrived.

“It took about 40 minutes for us to fly him from Koh Surin to Phuket. He was then immediately transferred to Vachira Hospital,” Capt Pongjak explained.

The boat he was working on, Thai flagged vessel Jao-Anoma, was transporting olive oil from Indonesia to Yang-Kung, Myanmar, said Capt Pongjak.

A staffer at Vachira Hospital confirmed at 12:45pm today that Mr Pariwat was under the care of doctors there.

— Natthaphol Wittayarungrote