UPDATE: An ‘engine malfunction’ blamed for boat collision off Phuket

A number of Chinese tourists and boat crew were injured as a result of their speed boat hitting a small oil tanker off the east coast of Phuket on Saturday afternoon. At this stage the investigation reveals that the speedboat’s engine ‘malfunctioned’. (Is that like ‘brake failure’?)

The oil tanker’s captain says that he had stopped the tanker to help refuel a waiting yacht. While they were preparing to untether from the yacht, the speedboat hit the tanker.

An updated report states that the speedboat was carrying 11 Chinese tourists (5 male, 6 female) with one boat captain and one crew. All 13 passengers sustained injuries, one more serious than the others.

At this stage police believe the speedboat suffered some sort of engine or control malfunction as the speedboat captain wasn’t able to steer the boat and collided with the oil tanker. Marine Police are continuing their investigation.