Sixteen people were injured when a speedboat carrying 26 Chinese tourists exploded off Phi Phi island on Sunday, Bangkok Post reports.
The speedboat, King Poseidon 959, picked up 26 Chinese tourists - including three children - from Phuket province on Sunday morning for a trip to the Phi Phi islands. Five Thai people - the captain, attendants and a tour guide - were also on board.
As the boat was passing the Viking cave on Phi Phi Le in Muang district, a fuel leak was noticed. The driver asked an attendant to take over the steering and went to check the boat's engines.
As he was opening the cover of one of the three engines, there was an explosion, and fire rapidly engulfed the vessel. Sixteen people were injured.
A local disaster mitigation official said officials might take about a week to retrieve the damaged boat and determine the cause of the explosion. The injured were sent to hospitals in Krabi and Phuket.