PHUKET: The sinking of a dive boat off the coast of Burma has left a group of tourist divers and crew still being questioned by authorities in the Burmese border port of Victoria Point.
Most of those on board the MV Blue Star have yet to be allowed to return to Phuket, a well-informed source told Phuketwan tonight.
The sinking of the vessel with up to 20 people making a narrow escape has followed within days of the mysterious disappearance of a man who is said to have fallen overboard.
That case is being kept open by police and consular officials because no body has been found.
The sinking of the luxurious timber Blue Star was the second time an Andaman-region dive boat has gone to the bottom in less than a fortnight.
A dive instructor on the Phuket-based craft Peter Pan captured footage of the dive boat Aladdin going down on January 29 with passengers and crew jumping for their lives.
No details have been revealed about the latest sinking by the Phuket-based operators of the MV Blue Star or about the mysterious disappearance overboard of a Finnish passenger last month.
The blaze that sank the vessel in Burmese waters is being attributed at this stage to a possible gas blast that sparked a fire.
It's not known how long Burmese authorities plan to hold the passengers and crew, rescued during the sinking by a passing fishing boat.
But Phuketwan's source says the Burmese officials would like to talk to at least one official from the Phuket-based company.
Victoria Point, where questioning about the incident is taking place, according to the source, is opposite the Thai port of Ranong.
Visa runners from Phuket usually visit both the ports when they wish to have their stays in Thailand extended.
Further down the coast in the border province that bears the same name as the port, police are still investigating the disappearance of a Finnish man, Esa Juntunen, 48.
Lieutenant Jamlong Boonsri of Suksamran Police Station says that crew from the Blue Star reported to police in the Phang Nga port of Kuraburi on January 18 that Juntunen had gone overboard about 11pm on January 17.
''The Blue Star was on its way back to Phuket from Victoria Point after a dive trip,'' Lieutenant Jamlong said today. He said the case remained mystifying because no body had been found.
A staff member from the Finnish consulate retrieved Mr Juntunen's backpack and passport from the Blue Star.
However, a puzzle remained about what he was doing on Phuket.
Although he had one-year visas since 2011 and had a new visa stamped on December 29, nobody has so far been able to explain whether Mr Juntunen was working on Phuket or where he was living at the time of his disappearance.
VIDEO, photos of Aladdin sinking
http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article18263937.ab/
Most of those on board the MV Blue Star have yet to be allowed to return to Phuket, a well-informed source told Phuketwan tonight.
The sinking of the vessel with up to 20 people making a narrow escape has followed within days of the mysterious disappearance of a man who is said to have fallen overboard.
That case is being kept open by police and consular officials because no body has been found.
The sinking of the luxurious timber Blue Star was the second time an Andaman-region dive boat has gone to the bottom in less than a fortnight.
A dive instructor on the Phuket-based craft Peter Pan captured footage of the dive boat Aladdin going down on January 29 with passengers and crew jumping for their lives.
No details have been revealed about the latest sinking by the Phuket-based operators of the MV Blue Star or about the mysterious disappearance overboard of a Finnish passenger last month.
The blaze that sank the vessel in Burmese waters is being attributed at this stage to a possible gas blast that sparked a fire.
It's not known how long Burmese authorities plan to hold the passengers and crew, rescued during the sinking by a passing fishing boat.
But Phuketwan's source says the Burmese officials would like to talk to at least one official from the Phuket-based company.
Victoria Point, where questioning about the incident is taking place, according to the source, is opposite the Thai port of Ranong.
Visa runners from Phuket usually visit both the ports when they wish to have their stays in Thailand extended.
Further down the coast in the border province that bears the same name as the port, police are still investigating the disappearance of a Finnish man, Esa Juntunen, 48.
Lieutenant Jamlong Boonsri of Suksamran Police Station says that crew from the Blue Star reported to police in the Phang Nga port of Kuraburi on January 18 that Juntunen had gone overboard about 11pm on January 17.
''The Blue Star was on its way back to Phuket from Victoria Point after a dive trip,'' Lieutenant Jamlong said today. He said the case remained mystifying because no body had been found.
A staff member from the Finnish consulate retrieved Mr Juntunen's backpack and passport from the Blue Star.
However, a puzzle remained about what he was doing on Phuket.
Although he had one-year visas since 2011 and had a new visa stamped on December 29, nobody has so far been able to explain whether Mr Juntunen was working on Phuket or where he was living at the time of his disappearance.
VIDEO, photos of Aladdin sinking
http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article18263937.ab/
Looks like the Burmese authorities do something that the Thai authorities don't do, detain and investigate in the case of boat sinkings. Maybe a lesson to learnt by Thai authorities on how to do things?
Posted by Robin on February 11, 2014 01:49