Bangkok boat explosion injures at least 58

The injured, including two in serious condition, were dispatched to five nearby hospitals in the capital for treatment, said an official with the local disaster centre.

At least 58 people have been injured in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, after the engine on a water taxi exploded as it pulled into a jetty.

Witnesses interviewed on Channel 3 - a Thai news channel - described a loud bang that rang out just as the boat was docking, sending some passengers racing for the pier while others leapt into the canal's murky waters.

Police said it was not immediately clear what caused the engine to explode.

But Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck clarified at noon that Family Transport was told to switch to using diesel on all of its boats and keep providing services normally as a service suspension would affect a lot of people. There were unconfirmed reports that all of its 30 LNG-powered boats have been suspended from service.

The commuter boat had been packed with passengers as it travelled on Klong Saen Saep - Bangkok's busiest canal - from an eastern suburb to the city center. The boats run around 100,000 passenger journeys a day, according to official figures from 2012. Mr Didi Hanzar, head of Bali Search and Rescue Office, said yesterday that the ferry's manifest showed 51 people, including 14 crew, on board.

The boat belonged to Family Transport Co., whose director, Chaovalit Metayaprapas, apologized for the accident, adding that the company would take responsibility for all medical costs from the accident.