According to a report by Jonathan Head, the BBC's Southeast Asia correspondent, a British tourist has gone missing in Thailand. The incident occurred after a boat caught fire and sank near Koh Tao.
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03-21, 2025The Surat Thani Provincial Public Relations Office stated that Alexandra Clark, 26, from Lambeth, South London, was on board the vessel at the time of the incident. The accident happened after 09:00 Coordinated Universal Time (02:00 Greenwich Mean Time) on Sunday, with the fire originating in the engine room of the boat.
Koh Tao police believe the fire was caused by a fuel tank overflowing while the boat was being refueled during the voyage. Police have filed negligence charges against the captain and crew. A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said: "We are providing support to the family of a British woman who is missing in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities."
The Surat Thani Provincial Public Relations Office posted on Facebook: "Upon receiving the fire report, the Surat Thani Marine Office immediately coordinated with private boats and volunteers to quickly help tourists and crew evacuate safely to another boat." The statement added: "One tourist is missing, a woman named Alexandra Clark, a British citizen. Authorities have organized a search team to find the missing person."
Thai Navy divers searched the wreckage and surrounding waters on the day of the incident, but found no trace of the missing woman. Police stated that Ms. Clark is believed to have been in the boat's restroom when the fire broke out. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but according to police, the fire was caused by the engine used to compress air into the fuel tank running out of fuel en route to a popular dive site in the Gulf of Thailand.
Colonel Sarayut Buakhawachira of the Koh Tao Police Station said that the tourists and diving instructors were taken to the Southwest Pinnacle dive site at around 7:30 am. At approximately 10:00 am, "an employee on the boat was responsible for filling the air tanks, and he added excessive gasoline to the engine tank, causing the gasoline to overflow. When he started the engine, sparks were produced, causing the engine to catch fire and spread, eventually causing the entire boat to burn and sink into the sea." He added that the fire spread rapidly, engulfing the engine room and forcing divers, instructors, and crew to jump into the sea. He confirmed that the search for Ms. Clark would resume on Tuesday morning.
The Thai government has repeatedly pledged to improve maritime safety, especially after the Phuket boat capsizing seven years ago that killed 46 Chinese tourists, but several fatal accidents have occurred since then. Last year, a ferry heading to Koh Tao caught fire, forcing more than 100 passengers to jump into the sea.
