A massive fire engulfed a tourist boat off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, leaving five people injured and one person missing.
Emergency services launched a search and rescue operation after the vessel was overtaken by flames in a high-traffic holiday area of the island. Rescue teams, including the Phuket Marine Police and local emergency responders, deployed to the scene to evacuate passengers and contain the blaze, which produced dense plumes of smoke visible from the shoreline.
Medical personnel confirmed that five individuals sustained injuries during the incident. The victims were transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation. Search teams have since shifted their primary focus to locating one passenger who remains missing following the fire.
The fire spread rapidly across the boat, causing extensive structural damage to the vessel. While the majority of the passengers were successfully rescued from the water or evacuated before the fire reached critical levels, the intensity of the blaze complicated initial efforts to account for everyone on board.
Thai maritime authorities have cordoned off the immediate area to allow for the recovery of the vessel and to ensure the safety of other tourist craft operating in the vicinity. Divers and surface search teams are continuing to sweep the waters around the site of the fire in an effort to find the missing individual.
Local officials have not yet identified the specific cause of the ignition. An investigation into the vessel’s safety certifications and the sequence of events leading to the fire is being coordinated by provincial maritime authorities.
The Phuket Marine Police have stated that the search operation will continue until the missing person is located or the search area is fully cleared.
