An express ferry crashed into a pier in San Saeb canal on Thursday evening but all passengers were able to escape safely to shore before it sank, the Marine Department's director-general said.
Sorasak Saensombat said the crash was an accident that resulted from the unusually high tide in the San Saeb canal, which made it difficult for the ferry's driver to control his vessel. It was not caused by operator carelessness.
The ferry operated by Family Transport Co, which was en route from Chidlom Pier, hit a metal structure attached to Wat Thep Lila Pier at about 6pm, causing cracks in the boat’s hull and panicking about 80 commuters onboard as water began leaking into the vessel.
All passengers managed to climb onto the pier shortly before the boat sank.
Mr Sorasak said the high tide made docking difficult as the ferry's hull was higher than the pier’s fenders made of used car tyres. The collision with the metal structure of the dock cracked the hull.
“The boat driver was not going fast. He had to travel slowly because of the high tide,” Mr Sorasak said.
“Family Transport decided to stop operations temporarily at 4.20pm over safety concerns as the San Saeb water levels were extremely high. The boat that crashed left before the announcement was made.”
It was earlier reported that the ferry was overloaded when it left Pratunam Pier, the first of the 21-pier NIDA line. A passenger onboard was quoted as saying that a staff member had shouted that the boat was the last one before the company would halt the service, prompting many people to try to board it.
According to some reports, the ferry was packed with more than 100 passengers.
The reports said before the crash, some passengers had asked to be let off after they noticed that the driver appeared not to be able to fully control the boat.