Thai tourist ferry sinks

The tourists were plucked from the burning ferry

Thai marine police have rescued 120 tourists from a blazing ferry off the popular southern resort of Phuket.

The wooden King Cruiser sank shortly after being engulfed in flames following a fire in the engine room.

The 27-metre ferry had been en route to the Phi Phi chain of islands, made famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Beach," which was filmed there.

Leonardo DiCaprio made the Phi Phi Islands famous

The tourists, who came from Hong Kong and Europe, were evacuated to other boats in the Andaman Sea.

Reports said none of the passengers was injured.

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze which broke out at around 0900 (0200GMT).

Safety

Minister Pavena Hongsakul, who oversees the Tourism Authority of Thailand, had recently vowed to boost safety precautions aboard tourist boats.

Last October four Singaporean tourists and their guide died when their tour boat capsized on Bangkok's Chao Phraya river.

The tragedy came a year after at least 18 people, including a number of tourists, drowned when a ferry sank in the Gulf of Thailand off the popular Koh Samui resort island.

Police suspect the King Cruiser, which was carrying an undetermined number of passengers, was overloaded with cargo.