Marine police on Wednesday morning rescued 15 crewmen who abandoned ship when a fire broke out on their fishing boat about seven nautical miles off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Pranburi district.
Pol Lt Col Ratthasak Imrittha, chief of Pranburi marine police station, said he received a radio report from the crew of the Choke Watcharapol 9 about 3.10am that the vessel was on fire and asking for help.
He then sent a patrol boat to rescue them and alerted rescue units on shore to stand by to take any injured people to hospital as needed. The marine police patrol boat had plucked all 15 crew from the sea and brought them safely to shore, he said.
Four of them had suffered injuries and were taken to nearby Pranburi hospital and Thanarat military camp hospital.
They were identified as Manas Auamcharoen, 52, the boat’s captain, who was in critical condition, Prakong Chanlan, 37, the helmsman and two Cambodian crewmen known only as Aium and Lai.
Mr Prakong told police that he took his boat out from Samut Sakhon’s Mahachai district to refill the tanks with fuel from an oil tanker at anchor about 15 nautical miles offshore. A a cooking gas cylinder at the back of the boat exploded and started a fire which quickly went out of control.
He ordered the crew to jump off the boat into the sea for safety, and sent an SOS to marine police before joining them in the water.