The captain behind the double-decker ferry, which sank on Sunday afternoon on its way from Koh Larn to Pattaya, turned himself in to the police yesterday afternoon and confessed to being under the influence of alcohol and Yaba before operating the ferry that killed six people.
Although Samarn Kranmuang later withdrew his confession, the ferry captain of Koh Lan Travel failed a drug test administered by Chonburi authorities. For that, Samarn was charged with carelessly piloting a boat which caused a fatal accident, drunk driving and using drugs. His license has been revoked for six months.
The ferry, which had a capacity of 150 passengers, was carrying more than 215 passengers when it sank into the water 1.5 kilometers away from Koh Lan’s shore. There were not enough life jackets for passengers after a rock struck the bottom of the ferry and stopped it in the middle of the ocean. It went down in 20 minutes.
Sixteen injured people were rescued among 209 survivors, while the six dead included two Russian tourists, a vsiitor from Hong Kong and three Thai citizens, Thairath reported.
Photo: Chonburi Thailand
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