One Dead, Dozens Injured After Tourist Speedboat Crashes Off Thailand
One person has died and 22 others were injured after a tourist speedboat carrying 55 people collided with a fishing trawler off Thailand, throwing passengers into the sea.
The accident occurred Sunday morning near Koh Gai Island, close to the Phi Phi Islands, a popular tourist area between Phuket and Krabi. The vessel, Korawich Marine 888, was left floating and overturned after the front of the speedboat was torn off in the collision.
Among the casualties was 18-year-old Russian tourist Elizaveta S., who tragically died despite frantic attempts to revive her. The Russian consulate-general in Phuket, Yegor Ivanov, confirmed her death, saying: “The Consulate General has received information about the death of a Russian citizen. We are continuing to investigate the circumstances of this incident.”
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as passengers screamed and clung to one another to stay afloat. “People were holding onto each other.
Some were pulling their loved ones out of the water,” one witness recounted. Another passenger shouted in panic, “What the hell are you doing?”
Rescue teams quickly reached the scene, plucking all 55 people from the sea. Among the injured were 19 foreign tourists and three Thai crew members, with one initially reported in critical condition and rushed to Phi Phi Hospital. The rest were treated on site before being transferred to hospitals in Phuket for further observation.
Thai authorities confirmed that the fishing trawler Pichai Samut 1 was unharmed, while the speedboat suffered catastrophic structural damage.
No oil spill or environmental impact was reported. Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the crash, including speed, visibility, and navigation practices.
The southern Andaman coast, where the crash occurred, is one of Thailand’s busiest tourist boating regions, especially during the peak winter season, with numerous speedboats operating daily between Phuket, Krabi, and the Phi Phi Islands. Russian-language media reported that many of the passengers were Russian-speaking, though the full passenger list has not yet been released.
