6 dead as ferry sinks off Pattaya

A packed tourist ferry sank yesterday off the Thai resort of Pattaya, killing at least six passengers including one Chinese tourist from Hong Kong.迷你倉Fifteen people were also seriously injured, according to police in Pattaya, a popular beach resort south of Bangkok renowned for its racy nightlife.A Russian child was among those seriously hurt."So far there are six dead from the boat," Pattaya police chief Colonel Suwarn Chiewnawintawat said, adding three Thais, a Chinese and two other foreigners were among the dead.Television footage showed stunned tourists being led to safety on shore where they were met by dozens of ambulances along the neon-lit beachfront.Police said all of the other 150 passengers had been plucked from the sea.The double-decker ferry sank yesterday afternoon near Koh Larn, a small island close to Pattaya which is popular with daytrippers.Police said they are probing the cause of the accident as local media reports blamed an engine problem on the overcrowded ferry for causing passengers to run to one side of the boat, which forced it to list.Police said the frantic relatives of the mini storageassengers alerted local emergency services to the disaster at around 5pm, sparking the rescue effort.The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok said one Hong Kong tourist died in the accident and another tourist from Hong Kong and one from Guangdong Province were injured.Russian news reports said three Russians, including a child, had been taken to hospital in a serious condition."At least half of the passengers were Russian tourists," a Russian Embassy official in Bangkok was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency.Renowned for its strip clubs and bars and cheap accommodation, Pattaya is one of Thailand's most popular resort areas and has become wildly popular as a package holiday destination for Russians.Thailand drew 22 million tourists last year, but is struggling to shake off a reputation for lax safety standards after a series of incidents, many of them fatal.In May more than 100 people were rescued from a tourist ferry which began to sink in rough seas near the tourist island of Phuket after it was hit by a big wave.Four people, including tourists, died in a nightclub fire in August 2012 on Phuket.儲存