Lt Col Panya Chaichana of the Phuket Marine Police said, “We received an SOS call at 1:20pm today about a fire on a cargo boadt heading to Phi Phi Island. It was reported that there were two crew on board the vessel.
“Another cargo ship, named Sepsin, was close by, so they went to help. They managed to save the two crew members from the blazing vessel. However, one crew member, 59-year-old Eicha Sawangwit, died while they were returning to Jian Vanich Pier in Phuket Town.
“The other injured crew member, Sommat Phetrat, 42, was immediately taken to Vachira Hospital,” he added.