When the anchor rope on their two-story tour boat ruptured, leaving 85 passengers trapped for more than 20 minutes in front of the Emerald Cave (Tham Morakot), they went through some terrifying moments. Everyone was donning life jackets.
The incident happened on May 6 close to Koh Libong in the Kantang district of Trang province’s Libong sub-district.
The “Natcha” tour boat carried the guests from Pak Meng Pier in Mai Fat sub-district for a tour in the Andaman Sea, according to Prit Narasaritkul, Chief of Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang’s Sikao district. to around 2:00 p.m., they arrived to the Emerald Cave and climbed the ladder to swim toward the cave and the beach.
The tour boat’s mooring rope, however, broke after all the tourists had left, forcing the skipper to steer the boat away from the port. This is typically done to prevent congestion brought on by numerous other tour boats arriving, departing, and mooring in the vicinity of the cave, according to Prit.
Despite a 20-minute delay in returning the tour boat to the dock for re-boarding, no visitors were harmed and they all made it back to the boat safely, according to Prit.
Following this occurrence, the Hat Chao Mai National Park will put safety precautions in place and regulate how tour boats are docked near the Emerald Cave, according to Prit.
After a TikTok user uploaded a video showing the allegedly trapped tourists waiting to board on May 9, the event became a hot topic on social media.
