Pol Capt Sutthiwat quoted Wirat Jittaraporn, the captain of the ferry with 104 passengers and crew onboard, as saying the vessel was about seven to eight kilometres from Railay beach near Ao Nang when he heard the explosion from the engine room.
He immediately ordered everyone to don life jackets and prepare to abandon ship. The fire quickly engulfed the ferry and burned it to the waterline before it sank off Krabi's Noppharat Thara beach.