Chinese tourists rescued when speedboat sinks off Thai island

Two Chinese tourists who set sail during a storm warning were rescued when their speedboat sank off an island in Thailand.

Footage shows the holidaymakers and their Thai boat operator drifting without life vests while being battered by a squall off Koh Phi Phi island in Krabi province on July 14.

Thunwisith Wongsuwan, the owner of the Narayana boat passing through the area, spotted the distressed individuals and turned around to collect them from the water.

Crew threw life vests and a rope into the sea, and pulled the three people onto the boat.

The tourists said they were from Shanghai, China, and were on holiday in Thailand with their family, who were staying at the at the Phi Phi Holiday Resort.

Thunwisith said: 'It was an unexpected incident that occurred during a storm lasting for 15 to 20 minutes. Everyone is safe, and we had taken the tourists back to the hotel.'

The incident occurred while red flags warning tourists of inclement weather were set up at the Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park.

The Krabi Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office had earlier warned locals in to be careful of potential flash floods and landslides due to continuous rain from July 13 to 18.

In July 2018, two tourist boats carrying mostly Chinese tourists sank in a massive storm in Phuket.

The double-decker cruise boat Phoenix PC Diving, and the tourist boat Serenita, were struck by rough waves, killing at least 46 people and leaving three missing.

Thai authorities have blamed Chinese tour operators in Phuket for the deadly accidents.

Prawit Wongsuwon, former deputy prime minister of Thailand, was quoted by local media as saying: 'This accident was entirely Chinese harming Chinese. The boats were theirs, and they ignored warnings and insisted on sailing out to sea. We weren't responsible for that – they were. They have to resolve this themselves.'

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.