British tourists in speedboat horror as boat collides with yacht off of Phuket, killing the captain and sending holidaymakers flying into the sea
- The speedboat had 49 people on board and crashed into a luxury Russian yacht
- One of the crew members is still missing and divers are searching for him
- The captain had previously been jailed for causing a fatal crash in 2014
British tourists are among 12 injured in a horror speedboat crash which killed the captain in southern Thailand yesterday.
The speedboat, named Choksupasarn, had 49 people on board including 45 tourists – left AA Marina pier in Phuket around 10am on Wednesday for a tour of Koh Khai Nok in Phang Nga province.
On the way back, near Koh Khai Nok, it crashed into the luxury Russian motor yacht Stella, under its Russian captain Alexander Gorbunov, 47.
A bleeding woman is treated after sustaining injuries during a horror speedboat crash in Thailand
The 12 injured tourists and other passengers walk back to shore. The captain of the boat died and one of the crew is still missing
The captain of the Thai speedboat, Surat Mat-osod, was killed and dozens of panicked tourists were injured after being flung into the choppy seas.
The bloodied and battered tourists were then carried to hospital on stretchers.
Nobody on the yacht was injured, police said.
The holidaymakers included people from Russia, Pakistan, Estonia, Iran, England and Egypt.
They are being treated at Thalang Hospital in Phuket. Rescue workers were today searching for one of the missing crew, Manoon Samanbut, who was flung into the water.
An injured tourist is stretchered back to shore after the speedboat crashed into a luxury Russian yacht
The holidaymakers included people from Russia, Pakistan, Estonia, Iran, England and Egypt
The captain, Surat Mat-osod, was killed and dozens of panicked tourists were injured after being flung into the choppy seas
Police Colonel Prasert Srikhunnarat, superintendent of marine police sub-division 8, said several vessels had been dispatched around the area of the crash.
He added: ‘Police divers are also searching for the missing crew member and the operation will continue until we can find him.
‘There is a chance he is still alive. There are 12 divers involved with the search.’
Kittipong Samanbut, the worried father of the missing crewman, said his son had only been working on the vessel for one month.
Rescue workers were today searching for one of the missing crew, Manoon Samanbut, who was flung into the water
Police Colonel Prasert Srikhunnarat, superintendent of marine police sub-division 8, said several vessels had been dispatched around the area of the crash
The speedboat captain had previously been involved in a fatal crash when his vessel collided with a fishing trawler in 2014.
Two South Koreans were killed and dozens injured, after the captain said he bent down to pick something up and collided with the trawler.
Surat was charged with recklessness causing death but returned to speedboat driving after finishing his jail sentence.