2 Chinese die in Thai speedboats collision
Print Edition
TWO speedboats packed with 62 tourists crashed off the coast of southern Thailand yesterday, leaving at least two dead and more than 20 injured. The fatalities were identified as Chinese.
The incident was the latest to mar the country’s image as a tourist paradise, and the third crash in two weeks involving boats that shuttle holidaymakers to Thailand’s resort islands — often at high speed.
The collision involved two boats “filled to capacity” with mostly Chinese and Korean tourists on a morning trip from the popular island of Phuket to smaller islands nearby, Phuket City Hall said in a statement.
Police said they were investigating how the two boats crashed in broad daylight but suspected speed was a factor. “It had to be that they were going too fast, that’s why there was an accident,” said Lieutenant Colonel Prasert Srikhunrat, deputy superintendent of Phuket’s marine police. He said there was light rain, but did not believe weather was entirely to blame.
One of the boats was carrying 26 passengers and the other had 36 people on board, including the two who died, he said. They were identified as a Chinese man and woman.
Police boats rescued many people from the water in an operation that took about 90 minutes, he said. The larger of the two boats sank, the other was towed to shore.
Tourism is a key source of revenue for Thailand, which received nearly 30 million foreign visitors in 2015.
Accidents involving tourists have become common as the number of visitors increases every year in a country known for lax enforcement of laws and safety regulations.
On Sunday, a speedboat near the resort island of Koh Samet rammed an anchored boat, injuring 30 people, according to Thai reports.
In late May, a speedboat carrying 32 tourists capsized in rough waters off Koh Samui, leaving four dead.
In February, two Russian tourists were badly injured while scuba diving when a speedboat’s propeller severed one of the men’s legs and cut deep gashes into the other man’s leg.
And a 52-year-old French woman died after being struck by a boat while in waters reserved for snorkelers.
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