In Thailand, a ferry with tourists sailing to the “Island of Death” caught fire (8 photos + 1 video)
The overnight ferry Ko Jaroen 2 from Surat Thani province was scheduled to arrive at Koh Tao, a popular tourist destination off the coast of Thailand, when a fire broke out in the engine room at around 6.30am local time, engulfing the entire ship. 
There were 108 people on board the ferry. Noticing the clouds of smoke and fire, people began to scream and sound the alarm. “We barely had time to get life jackets,” says one of the crew members. - It was chaos. People were crying... I teared up too.”
Panicked passengers crowded onto the roof of the ferry and desperately waited for rescue. Some even dared to jump overboard. Breathtaking footage shows terrified passengers scrambling over railings to reach the highest point of the ferry, while trying to avoid heavy smoke and spreading fire. Some wore life jackets while others fought the fire in their swimming trunks as they watched the sea for signs of rescue services.
A Surat Thani resident who often travels to Koh Tao for work said several boats came to the rescue about 20 minutes after the distress was reported, but the boats could not get too close to the ferry for fear of explosions. And people jumped into the water to get to them.
As police and coast guards arrived on the scene, the fire began to be extinguished and the smoke began to clear, revealing charred metal and the hollow interior of the vessel.
Rescuers managed to pull 97 tourists and 11 crew members on board from the ferry before the fire engulfed the bow of the ferry.
“The vessel is the overnight ferry Ko Jaroen 2, which also serves as a cargo ship. It was heading to Koh Tao and left the pier in Surat Thani at 11 pm, said the superintendent of the Koh Tao police station. — At the time of the incident, there were 97 passengers on board, including Thai and foreign nationals, as well as 11 Burmese crew members, along with cargo. The fire broke out in the engine room while the ship was at sea and approaching the pier on Koh Tao, causing panic among passengers, some of whom jumped overboard.
After receiving a message from the authorities and boat operators on Koh Tao, we quickly dispatched a rescue vessel to evacuate all passengers and crew back to the coast. Some of them suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation."
Other videos of the incident showed that the ferry was also carrying several vehicles.
Koh Tao was nicknamed the Island of Death after the murders of British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in 2014. Since then, there have been several more unexplained deaths of tourists there, leading to the island being called “cursed.”
