Tourists rescued from sinking speedboat off Thailand's west coast

The Bangkok Post reports that 28 people were rescued from a sinking tour boat off the coast of Krabi province in western Thailand on Monday, March 10.

A patrol boat crew from the nearby Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park came to the aid of the passengers and crew of the speedboat Siriwan Marine 5 after the latter began suffering water ingress in the Andaman Sea off Krabi.

A park official said the flooding on the speedboat occurred after the bottom of the hull was damaged due to the impact from rough waves while it was en route to Phuket. The flooding had also affected the vessel's steering, making it unable to head to the nearest shoreline for the passengers to be offloaded.

The passengers were eventually evacuated to another boat that had sailed to the area to render assistance. They were then brought to shore, where they waited for another boat that would transport them to their final destination of Phuket.