|
DAY 1
Boat capsizes off Samui
Story by SUPAPONG CHAOLAEN and AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK
Surat Thani — A speedboat carrying more than 40 people back from a full-moon party on Phangan island capsized early yesterday morning, leaving seven people dead, five injured and eight others missing.
The fibreglass boat, with more than 40 passengers and crew on board, capsized about 2 kilometres off Samui island around 5:20am yesterday. It was returning from Koh Phangan’s Rin beach and headed for Koh Samui's Sea Breeze port in Bangrak bay, tambon Bo Pud, when the accident happened.
A marine police patrol boat and about 10 tourist boats rushed to help. They found the speedboat floating upside down with seven dead bodies trapped inside.
Three of the dead were Thais. The other four were foreigners including a Swiss, a German and an Australian. Thirty survivors, five of them injured, were rescued and taken to Koh Samui's Bangrak port.
The speedboat bearing the name Sud Sakhon was officially registered as Sawasdee Chalermchoke Nava 5 with a carrying capacity of 43 people, including crew. It was registered as belonging to Sea Breeze Internet and Tour Co. owned by a man called Kosol Chanthong.
Among senior provincial authorities who investigated the accident, Pol Lt-Col Jaru Sangkamantorn, the marine inspector of Samui, said the sea was calm at the time of the accident. However, he said, passenger speedboats plying between Samui and Phangan often sped along very fast and could easily capsize if they hit strong waves.
Sakchai Chaithawat, information chief of the navy's Second Fleet on Koh Samui, said there were no signs of the boat hitting anything before it capsized. He assumed that its steering wheel malfunctioned causing the boat travelling at high speed to lose its direction and capsize.
Marine Department chief Tawalyarat Ornsira said the boat might be overloaded. Also, the boat had another engine in addition to its original two, which added a great deal to its total weight, he said. Moreover, a hydraulic cable controlling the boat’s direction at the third engine was found to have snapped.
Survivor Viparat Sitaya, 27, said the speedboat was packed. Only some of the passengers had tickets. About ten minutes after the boat left Koh Phangan, water kept pouring in over its left side and accumulated in the rear section where there were many passengers.
Miss Viparat said she and three of her four women friends were thrown overboard. Another passenger, who only gave her first name Jurairat, said the boat was speeding when it suddenly tilted to one side and seawater rushed in fast before it capsized.
|
capsize
(of a boat) to turn over in the water
trapped
caught inside and unable to escape
survivors
people who continue to live after being in a dangerous situation
rescued
saved from a dangerous situation
bearing
showing
|
plying
traveling regularly on a particular route
malfunctioned
failed to work correctly
hydraulic
operated by liquid moving under pressure
snapped
broke off suddenly |
packed
very full
accumulated
gradually increased
thrown overboard
forced over the side of a boat
tilted
moved in a position with one side higher than another
|
DAY 2
Speedboat driver to face charges
Story by SUPAPONG CHAOLAEN and AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK
The driver of the speedboat that capsized off Koh Samui on Tuesday surrendered to local authorities yesterday. He faces charges of recklessness resulting in deaths and injuries. Investigators have linked illegal modifications to the boat to the accident that killed at least 10 people. Twelve others were still missing.
Samran Roongruang, the 26-year-old boat driver, told the police he did not know the exact number of passengers because he had not counted them. But he believed there could have been 43 people, including himself and two crew members, aboard the boat, which had a licence for only 32.
Governor Vijit said Mr Samran admitted there were no life jackets on board even though this was required by law.
The accident happened at 5:20am on Tuesday — 15 minutes after the boat left Koh Phangan heading to Koh Samui. Mr Samran said one of the boat’s hydraulic steering cables snapped and he lost control.
The boat tilted suddenly to the right throwing many passengers to the same side of the boat. Water poured in quickly and the boat capsized, he said.
Meanwhile, Pol Lt-Col Chakkrit Pornchayanont, deputy chief of Koh Samui police station, questioned Somsawat Suksom, 29, the boat owner. The officer said the boat called Sud Sakhon that served Sea Breeze Internet and Tour Co. was only licensed to have two engines, but a third engine had later been installed.
The addition may have caused the boat’s hydraulic steering system to malfunction, he said. The officer said the boat owner would be charged later, pending an investigation into why the cable snapped.
About 30 people survived the accident and 10 bodies have so far been found. The last three were pulled from the water yesterday.
More than 30 boats of the local marine police, fishermen and tour operators as well as over 20 divers, a ship and a navy patrol plane combed the accident scene about a kilometre off Koh Som, 2 kilometres from Koh Samui, yesterday.
|
charges
formal accusations (that someone has committed a crime)
recklessness
extreme carelessness
|
modifications
changes
pending
waiting until something happens |
combed
searched thoroughly
|
DAY 3
Speedboat death toll rises to 14
Story by SUPAPONG CHAOLAEN
Surat Thani – The confirmed death toll when a packed speedboat capsized on its way back from a full-moon party rose to 14 as four more bodies were recovered off Koh Samui island yesterday. Two others, an Australian national and an unidentified foreign man, were still missing.
As of yesterday, only two people were still missing: Faheem Vighani Bhuiyan, 24, from Australia, and a foreign man who was identified only as Asso.
Pol Lt-Col Chakkrit Pornchayanont, deputy police chief on Koh Samui, said passengers who survived the accident had said the boat carried 40-50 passengers from a full-moon party on Koh Phangan and was going very fast. The boat's legal carrying capacity was 32, he said.
The boat owner, Somsawat Suksom, would be charged in a few days, pending an investigation into the cause of a snapped hydraulic steering cable. The boat was modified illegally with an additional engine to boost its speed above the authorised limit. It was suspected the extra engine caused a malfunction in the steering system, sending the boat out of control.
Mr Somsawat, the owner of Sea Breeze Internet and Tour Co., yesterday apologised for the accident and promised to accept responsibility
|
toll
total number (of deaths, injuries, etc.)
|
unidentified
whose name (identity) is not known |
authorised
legally allowed
|
| 
