Thai speed boat accident: Two tourists killed, two Aussies injured
Two tourists have died and two Australians have been injured after a speed boat capsized off the popular Thai holiday island of Koh Samui.
The boat, which was carrying 32 tourists plus four crew, flipped over Thursday afternoon after it was slammed by a wave near a rocky stretch of coast off the island in the Gulf of Thailand.
two Australians have been injured after a speed boat capsized off the island of Koh Samui. Photo: AAP
At least two tourists, one German and one British, were killed and other two Britons are missing. Photo: AP
The bodies of a 28-year-old British woman and a 29-year-old German woman were retrieved that afternoon, said Paiboon Omark, a district chief on the island.
At 10:30am on Friday rescue workers found the body of a third tourist, who police identified as a Hong Kong woman "in her 30s," some 500 metres from the accident site.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson has told Yahoo7 that two Australians on board the speedboat that crashed.
“Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is proving consular assistance to two Australians injured as a result of a speedboat accident off Koh Samui in Thailand on May 26,” he said in a statement.
“The Australia Embassy in Bangkok is working closely with Thai authorities to confirm whether any other Australians may have been involved in the incident and stand ready to provided counselor assistance should this be required.”
“Due to privacy obligations we are unable to provide further information.”
Officials say a speed boat carrying 36 peoples to the tourist resort island of Koh Samui capsized, leaving two foreigners dead and two others missing. Photo: AP
Rescue workers smash a hole in a capsized boat to retrieve a woman on Koh Samui, Thailand. Photo: AP
A team of 50 rescue workers are still scouring the area for a British man who is still missing.
The Thai captain of the Ang Thong Explorer speedboat was detained and charged with negligence that led to deaths and injuries.
"Weather was the cause of the accident because it created high waves, but the boat was also being driven at a high speed," Apichart Boonsriro, the commander of Surat Thani provincial police, told AFP.
More tourists - from the UK, Germany and Romania -were hospitalised on the island for injuries sustained during the accident, said staff at Samui hospital.
The speed boat had been taking the tourists on a day trip to a string of nearby islands and was only a few metres from a pier when it capsized.
The speed boat had been taking the tourists on a day trip to a string of nearby islands and was only a few metres from a pier when it capsized.
Photo: AP
A woman gestures after she was rescued from a capsized boat on Koh Samui. Photo: AP
The United Kingdom's Foreign Office confirmed the death of a British woman and said it was assisting her family.
A spokeswoman said they were aware of another British national in hospital for injuries suffered in the same incident, but did not make reference to a third citizen.
"We remain in contact with local authorities in Thailand for further information," she said.
Tourism is a key source of revenue for Thailand, but accidents involving tourists are common in a country where safety regulations are often weakly enforced.
