Several tourists injured with burns after speedboat explodes near Maiton Island, off Phuket in Thailand

Several tourists were injured in the speedboat accident off the Thailand coast. It happened near Maiton Island, off Phuket as the Tana Marine 555 boat exploded and burst into flames just metres from the island.

At least six people were injured including the skipper of the boat. The blast caused flying debris and gave passengers just moments to flee before a huge fire took hold.

Most of the tourists were from Russia and Kazakhstan. The Phuket Information Centre said: “The fire spread rapidly. There were 36 crew members and tourists on board. Everyone was able to get off the boat in time. However, there were minor injuries.”

Nachapong Pranit, director of the Phuket Marine Office, said a rescue team was deployed after receiving a report at 9:20 am. Two suffered burn injuries and were taken to hospital.

According to reports, the boat had stopped so some passengers could go swimming in shallow water, which likely saved them from injuries. This is the latest disaster involving a vessel in the last week after a tourist submarine with 45 Russian citizens on board sank off the coast of Egypt.