Klong drowning probe under way

CCTV footage showed that the passenger slipped while attempting to jump from the boat to the pier. (Video grab via Post Today)

Results of the probe into the cause of Thursday's tragedy in which a passenger on a boat on Klong Saen Saep fell into the canal and drowned while he rushed to get off at a downtown pier are expected in one week, said Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck.

He was speaking after the man's body was found and retrieved about two hours after the incident that took place around 6am at Nanachat Pier at the end of Sukhumvit Soi 15.

The man was later identified as Theerapong Silarit, 50. He had also been one of the 67 people injured when a commuter boat's engine exploded on March 5 on the same canal. The boats in both incidents were operated by the same company.

Earlier report, photos: Klong boat passenger falls, drowns

Footage from a security camera showed Theerapong follow the first passenger who jumped off the boat and landed on the pier's platform safely but Theerapong lost his footing and fell, said Mr Ormsin.

That happened while the boat had yet to be moored properly, he said. According to the footage, the boat's skipper and fare collector followed proper safety measures.

The skipper, Wichian Thamsa-moe, 38, promptly turned the tail of the boat away from the pier after he was alerted by the fare collector, Pornchai Sae Yang, 35, about the fall, which was the right decision to prevent the falling passenger from being injured by the propeller, said Mr Ormsin.

Divers retrieve the body of the boat passenger who fell into Klong Saen Saep while rushing to get off the boat. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)

As many as 80,000 people commute by boat on Klong Saen Saep each day, and only one operator runs the service, he said.

Following the accident, he said, a study was ordered to assess advantages and disadvantages of installing metal fences at piers to force passengers to embark and disembark more carefully.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said it is the responsibility of the boat operator to ensure that no passenger gets off a boat before it is properly moored.

Mr Wichian and Mr Pornchai later made statements about the incident to Makkasan police.

Mr Pornchai said that before he had a chance to tie the boat to a mooring pole one passenger jumped onto the pier, preventing him from completing the task.

He shouted for passengers not to jump before the boat was properly moored. Then a second passenger jumped to the pier, but lost his footing and fell into the canal.

He said he called out that someone had tumbled into the water and asked the skipper to move the boat away.

He then immediately phoned the boat company to alert emergency services about the incident.

The boat was moored nearby for about 30 minutes but there was no sign of the man.

"I felt bad, sorry and guilty about what happened. I never thought such an incident could occur. In my five years working on the boats I have never come across anything like this," he said. "I tried in vain to ask passengers not to jump to the pier, but nobody paid attention."

Boat operator Chawalit Methayaprapat said his firm would cover funeral rite expenses.