A tourist speedboat that carrying 31 passengers exploded in Thailand

News24xx.com - A tourist speedboat that carrying 31 passengers exploded in front of a popular beach in southern Thailand and wounded 16 people.

The tourist boat, named 'King Poseidon', take 27 Chinese tourists to Phi Phi Island in Krabi province when its ship's engines were on fire.

According to police reports, the blast has injured 14 tourists and two crew members, police said.

The authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion, which occurred while the ship was traveling from nearby Phuket island resort.

According to a report from Phi Phi hospital, while six people are in severe condition while seven others are sent to hospital in Phuket for further treatment.

Nine people have been arrested related to the fire case of the vessel.

Resorts and islands in southern Thailand are major tourist attractions, especially in high season from November to March. For Thailand, tourism accounts for around 12 percent of Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy and is one of its fastest growing sectors.

Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects the country to welcome 37 to 38 million tourists by 2018. That number increased from about 35 million visitors last year, 10 million of which are tourists from China.

 

 

 

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