Thailand: Passengers rescued after tourist boat capsizes
A boat carrying more than 20 tourists capsized off the coast of Thailand today but all passengers were rescued after spending three hours at sea, police said.
The speed boat was ferrying the 17 foreigners and five Thais from the popular resort island of Phi Phi back to Phuket around 2pm local time (7am Irish time) when a huge wave hit the boat and it capsized, police said. Police did not have any details on the nationalities of the foreigners.
The tourists were in the water for about three hours before rescue teams found them, police said.
“All the tourists are safe and we are landing at the pier now,” Marine Police Capt. Chatchai Pakdee said.
Tourists routinely take boats between the popular islands off southern Thailand. Boat accidents are relatively rare, though an overcrowded ferry on its way back from Pha-Ngan Island capsized in January and left seven people dead.
