A 76mm artillery shell got stuck in a cannon on the HTMS Chonburi frigate during a live firing exercise in the Gulf on March 13, and it was accidentally fired when the ship was docking near HTMS Khirirat at Sattahip naval base on Thursday.
Rear Admiral Veerudom Muangjin, the Navy’s spokesman, mentioned that the shell hit HTMS Khirirat, which was docked nearby, leading to a fire that was eventually put out. He also stated that 14 crew members were injured, with most suffering from breathing in smoke, and they were quickly taken to Queen Sirikit Hospital.
An investigative team will find out the cause of the accident and report to the Navy’s commander-in-chief Admiral Phadung Phan-iam within three days.
HTMS Khirirat, which was constructed at the Norfolk dockyard in the United States in 1972, was put into service with the RTN in 1974. It has a displacement of 1,172 tonnes, is 82.5 metres long and 9.9 metres wide. It has one 76mm cannon, 20mm and 12.7mm guns, and a depth charge launcher.
