Two tour boats suffer onboard fires off southern Thailand

News outlet Thai Examiner reports that two tour boats operating in the waters off Southern Thailand caught fire within 24 hours of each other late last week.

Local officials said the first incident occurred on Friday whilst the second occurred in the early morning (local time) of Saturday.

On Friday, the tour boat Aor Subpiti was underway near Trat province when its engine exploded, injuring two crewmembers.

The boat was returning to shore upon the completion of a snorkeling trip by the group that had chartered it. All six passengers and crew were safely rescued and brought to shore by Good Samaritan vessels.

The case involving the tour boat Dirace Class B occurred some 13 nautical miles off Khao Lak in Phang Nga province on Saturday. At the time, the vessel had ten crewmembers and 16 passengers, which included both Thais and foreign nationals.

The crew of Dirace Class B sent out a distress call at around 04:15 after its engine caught fire, which then prompted local maritime authorities to deploy rescue vessels to the area

The tour boat's passengers and crew were afloat in a liferaft when rescuers arrived and were eventually brought to shore.

The vessel was en route to Khao Lak National Park as part of a scheduled sightseeing trip when the blaze ignited.

Investigations into the two incidents have since been launched.