PHUKET: A fire broke out on a tour boat anchored at a boat pier in Muang district on Sunday morning, causing some damage but no deaths or injuries, governor Narong Woonciew said.
Mr Narong said the incident occurred at about 7.30am at the boat pier on Ko Siray in tambon Ratsada and the fire had been brought under control.
An official at the Phuket marine office said the boat - Sea Angel Beyond - belongs to Sea Angel Cruise Company.
The boat - 9 metres wide and 49.50 metres long with three diesel engines - can carry up to 490 passengers and 29 crew members. It was registered in Phuket on Nov 2, 2016 as a tour boat operating between Phuket and Ranong.
When the fire broke out, the boat was undergoing maintenance checks and not in service.
Witnesses said they saw flames appear on the right side of the boat's prow, and then heard an explosion. The fire destroyed parts of the boat but was put out before it spread to the engine compartments, the official said.
The cause of the blaze was being investigated.
