The operator of a speedboat which collided with a fishing vessel Sunday and left 32 injured and two lost at sea said the accident happened after he was distracted by retrieving a plastic bag from under his seat.
Captain Surat Matosot told Krabi police yesterday that he reached for a stray bag being blown by the wind to keep it from disturbing his passengers, despite having seen the fishing boat ahead of him.
“About 20 minutes after we departed from Maya Bay [on Koh Phi Phi] the sky got very dark, and a black plastic bag flew under my seat,” Surat said. “I was worried it would fly into the tourists, so I decided to pick it up.”
He said that when he looked up, it was too late to turn the speedboat and avoid the fishing vessel.
No one on the fishing boat was injured.
Surat has been charged with recklessness and remains in police custody. He could face more charges if the two missing passengers, tourists from South Korea, are not found alive.
There chances of surviving the accident seem dim, as more than 24 hours later, rescue teams have not found any traces of the missing passengers.
Meanwhile, the injured passengers were admitted to Vachira Phuket Hospital. An investigation team for the case has been appointed as the tourists will be questioned.
Surat said he ensured all tourists were wearing life vests when the boat departed but speculated that some took off the vest afterward, Phuket Gazette and Thairath reported.
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