UK tourist killed in boat fire off Koh Tao
published : 17 Mar 2025 at 12:28
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Supapong Chaolan
A British woman died in a fire on a diving boat off Koh Tao on Sunday, believed caught inside the toilet when the blaze started.
Surat Thani police said Alexandra Clarke, 26, a British tourist, was killed in a fire that began on the dive boat about 10am.
It was taking 22 people - tourists, scuba instructors and boat crew - from Koh Tao to the Southwest Pinnacle, a popular dive site about nine kilometres off the resort island.
Police said when the passengers were rescued by being transferred to other boats, the British tourist was not with them. Her body was later found on the fire-damaged boat. She had been seen going to the toilet shortly before the blaze began, police said.
The fire started when a crew member was filling air tanks for divers.
The boat was towed back to the island to find the cause of the fire and the woman's death.
Vocabulary
- blaze: a fire - เพลิง
- crew: the people who work on a ship, aircraft, etc. - ลูกเรือ
- diver: a person who works underwater, usually with special equipment - นักดำน้ำ
- rescue: to save a person or animal from a dangerous or unpleasant situation - ช่วยชีวิต
- scuba diver (noun): a swimmer who swims underwater using special breathing equipment consisting of a container of air which you carry on your back and a tube through which you breathe the air. - นักดำน้ำแบบสกูบา
- tank (noun): an object shaped like a wide tube; a metal container for gas or liquid - กระบอก
- tow: to pull a vehicle or boat by fixing it to the back of a another vehicle or boat - ลากจูง
