A FAMILY have spoken of their ordeal after after a blaze destroyed the Phuket-bound ferry they were travelling on.

Gina Moss was enjoying a three-week family holiday in Thailand when the ferry caught fire and passengers were forced to jump into the water to save their lives.

Gina, 45, from Southend who had been staying, in Railey, on Krabi, for three days, said: “The crew on the boat did not know what to do.

“The fire was at the back and we were trying to get to the front. We had to ask for life jackets.

“'In the end, everyone just jumped. We’ve been there five times – but not again.”

People from at least ten countries were on board the ferry Ao Nang Princess 5, travelling between the Thai holiday destinations of Krabi and Phuket, when smoke began to pour from the ferry’s stern.

Several people were left with just their swimming trunks, having lost all their possessions – including passports – in the fire.

Some travellers said most of the crew were in the water before the passengers, but the captain stayed aboard. Others said they had to scramble through windows on the top deck to escape, then found their route to safety blocked by crowds of people.

A 12-year-old girl, Israeli Shani Maril, died in the blaze on the ferry which was carrying 115 passengers, including ten children.

Ms Moss and her family also lost all their possessions, including phones, an iPad, passports and cash and were left stranded.

She said: “It was horrendous. A little girl burned to death. The crew just jumped in the water and left us. We were in complete shock and the embassy did little to help us.

“They put pressure on us to fly to Bangkok and then had the audacity to charge us £500.

The skipper of the ferry, Capt Wirat Jittraporn, 51, from Krabi, reported an explosion in the engine room.

He told passengers to put on life jackets.

The fire, on March 25 burned the ferry to the waterline, after which it sank.