18 passengers rescued after ferry explodes off South Thailand coast

Photo via มูลนิธิชุมพรการกุศลสงเคราะห์

Eighteen people were rescued after a ferry exploded on its way from Chumpon to Koh Tao today at about 2.30pm. All 18 passengers suffered injuries.

The ferry, named Lom Phraya, caught fire about 4-5 kilometres off the coast of the Haad Sai Ree sub-district, Mueng district in Chumpon province in the south of Thailand.

The rescue team reported on its Facebook page that 20 people were on board, 18 were passengers and two were ferry staff. All 18 passengers jumped out of the vessel and into the sea and were saved by the rescue team.

A 30 year old man suffered burns to about 50% of his face and is being treated in Chumpon Hospital. A 20 year old woman had a wound on her chin, and other passengers had mild injuries like bruises and burns.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation. The rescue officers believe there was an explosion in the engine room which caused the ferry to catch fire.

SOURCE: มูลนิธิชุมพรการกุศลสงเคราะห์ | Thairath

South Thailand NewsTransport News

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Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.

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