The incident was visible from shore at Rawai. Treerapong Taodang, the district’s assistant mayor, said rescue boats were immediately sent to the scene of the incident. He continued by saying that none of the 13 passengers on board had been injured.
Afterwards, one of the tourists aboard the Electric Blue, Boonpeng Hanfarlurn, told media reporters the accident happened at the end of a three-day Andaman dive site odyssey which included the Phi Phi archipelago. The vessel was still sitting on the rock late yesterday and salvage crews are expected to renew their efforts to dislodge her today.
Mr Taodang also commented that not one of the passengers was wearing a life-jacket when the rescuers arrived. Tourism agencies on the southern Thai island say that divers and tourists taking trips on vessels around local areas of the Andaman Sea should always wear life-jackets.
Skipper parks Phuket dive boat on rock
News in Asia
The skipper of a Phuket dive boat left his vessel sitting on top of a rock yesterday following a navigational error. The skipper of the Electric Blue was heading for port at Rawai just before lunch when he missed the navigable channel and ran aground on the rock.