British Tourist Missing After Dive Boat Fire Near Koh Tao

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of AMARIN TV

 

A British holidaymaker, 27-year-old Alexandra May Clarke, has gone missing after a dive boat she was on burst into flames near Koh Tao, a popular diving destination in Thailand. The incident occurred today as the vessel headed towards a prime diving site about five nautical miles from the island.

 

The dive boat, named Davy Jones Locker, was carrying a total of 22 people. This included 16 tourists, two diving instructors, two assistant instructors, and two crew members. As the fire broke out, passengers were forced to leap into the sea for safety, while a nearby vessel swiftly responded to aid those on board.

 

Rescue teams from the Surat Thani Marine Department were quickly dispatched to the scene. They managed to extinguish the blaze and assess the aftermath, finding that critical areas, including the engine room, the captain’s quarters, and a bathroom at the rear of the boat, had suffered significant damage.

 

While most of the passengers and crew were rescued, the search continues for Ms. Clarke, who has not yet been accounted for. The Koh Phangan Regional Harbour Office has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire, examining various potential factors that might have led to the vessel's distress.

 

The incident has cast a shadow over the popular tourist spot, raising concerns about safety regulations and practices pertaining to boating in the region.

 

Local officials are poised to review safety regulations for dive boats, aiming to prevent similar incidents in the future. Meanwhile, the dive and tourist communities are rallying to support the search and rescue mission and provide comfort to those affected, reported Thai Newsroom.

 

 

-- 2025-03-16

 

 

[ozz1]

Koh tao strikes again hope she's ok but it doesn't look good

[Woke to Sounds]

Cursed from the get go with that boat's name.

 

Probably the fire was started by rough seas.

 

Assuming divers are good swimmers how does one just go missing?

 

Hope she turns up.

 

 

[Jim Blue]

Time to change the name of that Island !

[Tropicalevo]

2 hours ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Cursed from the get go with that boat's name.

 

Probably the fire was started by rough seas.

 

Assuming divers are good swimmers how does one just go missing?

 

Hope she turns up.

 

They are supposed to be able to swim OK but some beginners cannot.

When the instructors finds out, here on Samui, they send them to a friend of mine who teaches swimming.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Cursed from the get go with that boat's name.

 

Probably the fire was started by rough seas.

 

Assuming divers are good swimmers how does one just go missing?

 

Hope she turns up.

 

 

There is no requirement for being able to swim. Divers wear wetsuits and buoyancy jackets. Which fulfil all boat safety requirements.

Obviously this doesn't prevent stupidity, and some people take them off.

[keysersoze276]

Again. Brits just can’t get enough. Stay home. If you insist on coming to Thailand, research.  Do your homework. It breaks my heart, but stop falling in quicksand!  Just stop!  WTF is wrong with Brits that they can’t see a pattern?

[Classic Ray]

When I learnt to dive on Koh Samui twenty years ago in a British staffed school we started with three days pool and classroom training, including swimming tests. 
 

If standards are not maintained, people die. Safety of students and their vessels are vital. But too often money is seen as the most important factor, not reputation.

[Gsxrnz]

A report in a British newspaper claims the missing girl was using the toilet below deck when the fire broke out.  

[cowellandrew]

3 hours ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Cursed from the get go with that boat's name.

 

Probably the fire was started by rough seas.

 

Assuming divers are good swimmers how does one just go missing?

 

Hope she turns up.

 

 

Check the video above vessel on fire sea like a mill pond!

Gale force 13😁😂

[Toby1947]

3 hours ago, Jim Blue said:

Time to change the name of that Island !

Time to change the name of the boat. 

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

The dive boat, named Davy Jones Locker,

Ohhh dear, what could possibly go wrong with that?

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

The Koh Phangan Regional Harbour Office has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire, examining various potential factors that might have led to the vessel's distress.

Zero maintenance ?

[KireB]

I went on a 4 island tour in Krabi many moons ago, and the staff was busy saving Chinese snorkelers who jumped in the ocean. Some of them couldn't swim.

[zyphodb]

How can you lose someone on a boat as small as that, with the sea like a millpond?

[Woke to Sounds]

1 hour ago, keysersoze276 said:

WTF is wrong with Brits that they can’t see a pattern?

 

Are you implying there is a death cult or a curse on Koh Tao that prefers Britishers?

[rwill]

Hopefully the boat that swiftly responded did not run over someone.

 

Maybe she was able to swim back to shore.  Hope so anyway.

[TigerandDog]

7 hours ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Cursed from the get go with that boat's name.

 

Probably the fire was started by rough seas.

 

Assuming divers are good swimmers how does one just go missing?

 

Hope she turns up.

 

 

You can't assume that divers, especially learner divers, are good swimmers. I did my open water course at Koh Tao back in 2010 and there was a group of Chinese in one of the other classes. They all got through the in pool training and struggled to pass the swimming test, but when it came time for their first real dive, the moment they stepped off the boat into the water they all panicked. Turns out they couldn't swim at all, and when they did the swim test it was low tide, so their feet were always able to touch bottom. Needless to say, they were hailed out of the water, taken back to shore and kicked out of the dive school, and lost their dive school fees to boot.

[BritManToo]

19 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

You can't assume that divers, especially learner divers, are good swimmers. I did my open water course at Koh Tao back in 2010 and there was a group of Chinese in one of the other classes. They all got through the in pool training and struggled to pass the swimming test, but when it came time for their first real dive, the moment they stepped off the boat into the water they all panicked. Turns out they couldn't swim at all, and when they did the swim test it was low tide, so their feet were always able to touch bottom. Needless to say, they were hailed out of the water, taken back to shore and kicked out of the dive school, and lost their dive school fees to boot.

What diving course?

PADI have no such rules and imposing 'extra' rules will get you struck off.

BSAC maybe, but seem to have no schools on Koh Tao.

[richard_smith237]

4 hours ago, keysersoze276 said:

WTF is wrong with Brits that they can’t see a pattern?

 

WTF is wrong with you ??...  when you all you see is confirmation bias to Brit Bash...  and that was your only take-away from this story ?? moronic.

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

4 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

A report in a British newspaper claims the missing girl was using the toilet below deck when the fire broke out.  

 

Horrible...   But, reportedly the flames were extinguished, so, IF so, she ought not to be missing by now, and they have been able to search the boat, surely ?

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, rwill said:

Hopefully the boat that swiftly responded did not run over someone.

 

Maybe she was able to swim back to shore.  Hope so anyway.

 

Hope so... but with 'conditions so still' surely she was spotted...  and surely she would have identified herself to any authorities so they can account for her...   especially as this news will be very widely known locally.

 

 

[simon43]

7 hours ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Cursed from the get go with that boat's name.

 

Probably the fire was started by rough seas.

 

...

 

 

I would have thought that rough seas would put a fire out!  Anyway, as others have said,the sea was as flat as a millpond!

[smedly]

8 hours ago, Woke to Sounds said:

 

 

Assuming divers are good swimmers how does one just go missing?

 

 

 

 

very strange indeed, no big panic, jump of the boat wait to be rescued, makes no sense why she is missing

 

looks like flat calm sea

[TigerandDog]

27 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

What diving course?

PADI have no such rules and imposing 'extra' rules will get you struck off.

BSAC maybe, but seem to have no schools on Koh Tao.

it was a PADI course and part of the course rules were that you had to be able to swim 100 metres. At Koh Tao that was done by swimming out from the shore 50 metres and then back 50 metres. It could be freestyle, backstroke,  breaststroke, even dog paddle, as long as it could be done non stop,  and it was not an extra rule, the same rule of being able to swim 100 metres also applied at the PADI dive schools in Sydney too.  It may not be a rule now based on your comment, but back then it was definitely the case. I wasn't a strong freestyle swimmer, so I did it breastroke, they even gave me the option of being able to wear fins but it had to be 200 metres.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

it was a PADI course and part of the course rules were that you had to be able to swim 100 metres. At Koh Tao that was done by swimming out from the shore 50 metres and then back 50 metres. It could be freestyle, backstroke,  breaststroke, even dog paddle, as long as it could be done non stop,  and it was not an extra rule, the same rule of being able to swim 100 metres also applied at the PADI dive schools in Sydney too.  It may not be a rule now based on your comment, but back then it was definitely the case. I wasn't a strong freestyle swimmer, so I did it breastroke, they even gave me the option of being able to wear fins but it had to be 200 metres.

 

I was never given such a 'test' when I undertook my PADI - although it was obvious I'm a strong swimmer.

 

We did a 'pool practice' with dry side training and a test, then in the pool with the kit and then went on a 4 day live-aboard trip - my First Dive was the 'dive exam'...    But there was no 'actual water exam' as the instructor had seen us do everything we were 'theoretically' supposed to be doing in the exam anyway (i.e. taking mask off underwater - getting accurate neutral buoyancy etc).

 

One of the lads on the same dive trip was unable to swim at all, his buddy stayed very close to him and helped him... he did every dive except night dives - he had no issues and enjoyed his trip - but I can see how other non-swimmers might easily panic. 

 

 

Anyway - swimming ability is rather a red-herring in this discussion with regards to the missing girl - Swimming is part of the curriculum in British Education - there are very few people in the UK (below a certain age) who are unable to swim

 

 

 

[frank83628]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

There is no requirement for being able to swim. Divers wear wetsuits and buoyancy jackets. Which fulfil all boat safety requirements.

Obviously this doesn't prevent stupidity, and some people take them off.

Yes there is, even for the beginner open water course.

[frank83628]

36 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Hope so... but with 'conditions so still' surely she was spotted...  and surely she would have identified herself to any authorities so they can account for her...   especially as this news will be very widely known locally.

 

 

Conflicting information, other info said she surfaced from diving early to use the toilet