A tragic incident occurred off the coast of Koh Tao, Thailand, on Sunday when a British tourist died in a fire aboard a diving boat.
The victim, identified as 26-year-old Alexandra Clarke from Lambeth, South London, is believed to have been trapped in the boat’s toilet at the onset of the blaze.
The fire erupted around 10am on the dive boat David Johne, which was transporting 22 individuals from Koh Tao to Southwest Pinnacle, a renowned dive site located approximately nine kilometers from the resort island.
The group on board included 15 tourists, two crew members, and four diving instructors and assistants.
Surat Thani police chief Pol Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikhong reported that the blaze started while a crew member, known only as Tae, aged 48, was filling air tanks for divers.
The boat was between five and six nautical miles from the island when a fire broke out in the engine room and quickly engulfed the entire vessel, said Capt. Natthaphon Sinpoonphon, the deputy director of the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre in Surat Thani.
Amid the emergency, other boats in the vicinity swiftly responded, rescuing the passengers. However, Clarke was initially unaccounted for.
Her body was later discovered among the charred remains of the vessel.
According to Pol Maj Gen Sermphan, Clarke was last seen heading to the toilet shortly before the fire broke out, raising concerns about the boat’s safety measures and emergency protocols.
Authorities have since towed the David Johne back to Koh Tao for a thorough forensic examination to determine the precise cause of the fire and Clarke’s untimely death.
This incident has cast a shadow over the safety standards of tourist operations in the region, prompting calls for stricter regulations and better enforcement to prevent such tragedies in the future.
