Captain charged over Phi Phi boat explosion
Police on Tuesday filed a charge of recklessness causing injuries to others against speedboat captain Kriengkrai Boonsri, 28, following a boat explosion near Phi Phi Island on Sunday.
The charge against Kriengkrai, who is one of five people still in hospital after the incident, is in addition to a similar charge posted against another crewmember earlier this week.
Kriengkrai and the unnamed crewmember were operating a speedboat that exploded on Sunday while heading from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, resulting in 16 injuries.
Twenty-six Chinese tourists and five Thai boat crewmembers were on the “King Poseidon 959” speedboat chartered by Apple Tour when it exploded in front of the so-called “Viking Cave” attraction.
Meanwhile, officials have used a crane to move the speedboat’s engines for forensic inspection to determine the cause of the explosion.
Pol Colonel Surapol Jaisaen, a superintendent at the forensic centre No 8 Surat Thani, said his officers would have to compare what remained of the burnt-out speedboat with a boat of the same model and conduct a simulation of incident.
Surapol said it was suspected that the speedboat’s engine had a fuel leak during hot weather. When the boat captain opened the hood to check a machine malfunction, air pouring into the engine chamber may have caused an explosive reaction.