Six divers were at the “standing motorbike” site, in Bay 1 off the east coast of Racha Yai Island, when the anchor came bundling down – the anchor chain hitting one of the dive party on the head in the process.
“It was very lucky that no one was killed in the process,” said one diver in a flurry of comments posted on Facebook after the incident.
“One instructor hit in the head with the chain. Marine police have been informed,” another wrote.
Adding insult to injury, after the anchor dropped it snagged the motorbike and hauled it away along the seabed, effectively removing the dive attraction.
Following up on the report, Olly Wilce, the Base Manager at TUI Marine (The Moorings, Sunsail, Footloose and LeBoat) and Training Manager/Chief Instructor at JAVA Yachting, confirmed the incident was a “mistake”.
“The captain was given a full briefing, it’s not the company’s fault,” Mr Wilce reported yesterday.
“All my customers upon arrival are give a full chart brief on the sailing grounds and told strictly about the no anchoring areas. Racha Yai and Noi being two of them,” Mr Wilce told The Phuket News.
“The motorbike is a diver attraction and they happened to catch it with the anchor when trying to retrieve it (the anchor).
“This is a mistake which has never happened with one of our yachts before. And I assure everyone it will not happen again,” Mr Wilce said.
Mr Wilce’s quick response was well received by Phuket’s dive community.
Meanwhile, it has yet to be reported if the motorbike has been returned to the site, or if another one will be installed to replace it.