No injuries were reported and the cause of the explosion and fire is under investigation.

A fire broke out and spread rapidly before dawn at a pier in Phuket's Chalong Bay on Wednesday (Jan 7), destroying 22 speedboats operated by 13 companies. Many of the boats had been fully refuelled ahead of planned tours of the popular Thai resort island, and damage was estimated at 38 million baht (US$1.2 million), officials said. No casualties were reported.

An explosion on one speedboat

While some companies secured replacement boats, many tours were cancelled, with operators calling the fire the largest of its kind in the area. Witnesses told of hearing an explosion on one speedboat before strong winds fanned the flames and spread the fire to nearby vessels, The Nation Thailand news site reported.

Cutting mooring lines to separate the vessels

Police and rescue workers were alerted at about 4am and firefighters from four municipalities were deployed to contain the blaze, cutting mooring lines to separate the vessels. The initial low tide limited access to the pier, delaying attempts to extinguish the blaze.

After the fire was brought under control

After the fire was brought under control, Governor Nirat Pongsitthavorn ordered the damaged boats removed and firefighting foam deployed to prevent debris and fuel from polluting the sea, Bangkok Post reported. The governor praised rescue teams for quickly isolating the burning boats, saying that the fire could have spread to more than 1,000 other fully fuelled tourist boats in the Chalong bay. and  ordered the boats removed from the area as quickly as possible to prevent debris from spreading and harming the marine environment.

Investigate the incident

Police and forensic officers have been assigned to investigate the incident, including reviewing closed-circuit television footage from the pier and surrounding areas to determine the cause.

Phuket Governor Nirat Pongsitthithaworn said 22 speedboats belonging to 13 different operators had all been refuelled and readied to serve tourists in the morningaccording to Bankok Post . He praised rescue workers for quickly isolating the burning boats. Otherwise, the blaze could have spread to more than 1,000 other fully fuelled tourist boats docked in the Chalong bay.

Firefighting teams from Chalong, Rawai, Wichit and Karon municipalities, along with the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and other agencies, deployed fire engines and personnel to contain the blaze. Crews attempted to cut mooring lines and separate boats to prevent the flames spreading further. Efforts were hampered by low tide, which made access difficult and delayed full control of the fire

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Source : Thai media
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