PHUKET, THAILAND – A holiday speedboat trip near the Phi Phi Islands ended in tragedy when it collided with a fishing vessel, killing a 17-year-old Russian tourist and injuring more than 20 others.
Teenager killed in violent boat crash
A fully loaded speedboat carrying tourists collided with a fishing boat about five nautical miles off Phi Phi on Saturday morning. The boat “Koravich Marine” had 55 people on board, including 50 tourists, when the crash occurred at around 8:55 a.m. The impact was so severe that the 44-year-old driver, identified as ‘Suriya’, suffered two broken arms and a spinal fracture.
Police describe high-speed impact
Police said the tour vessel struck the fishing boat “Pichai Samut 1” at high speed, leaving one Russian girl dead and at least 20 people injured.
“The speedboat was being driven at high speed and hit the fishing boat,”
said Atthawat Suwannarat, police chief. The exact cause of the collision was still under investigation.
Major rescue operation off Phi Phi
Authorities launched a large-scale rescue operation immediately after the crash, with private fishing boats, the marine police and emergency services rushing to the scene. All injured passengers were first taken to a hospital on Koh Phi Phi, then transferred by boat to larger hospitals in Phuket. By 4 p.m., 53 of the 55 people involved, as well as the teenager’s body, had been brought back to Phuket.
Tourists from several countries among victims
On board the tour boat were 33 Russians, eight Kazakhs, four Uzbeks, two Kyrgyz, three Poles, one Briton and four Thais, who had departed as a group from Phuket. The 17-year-old victim had been travelling with a family member. Fourteen injured people were taken to Vachira Hospital, four to Siriroj Hospital and one to Dibuk Hospital, and several children were among the injured, reported to be in stable condition.
Negligent homicide case opened
Phi Phi police opened a negligent homicide case against the injured driver.
“He will definitely be charged with negligence,”
said the police chief. Investigators ordered drug and alcohol tests for the driver, with results pending, and were examining the vessel’s speed, lookout and navigation conditions at the time of the accident.
Emergency centre set up for shaken tourists
The provincial administration in Phuket set up a temporary emergency centre at Ao Chalong Pier to coordinate assistance and support traumatised tourists. Two official boats helped transport people from the crash site back to shore. The operator of the speedboat agreed to cover all medical treatment costs as visitors struggled with the shock of a disaster in what was meant to be an island paradise.
Questions over tour boat safety
The deadly crash raised sharp questions about the safety of Thailand’s tour speedboats in busy high-season waters. Local media asked who truly controls speed, lookout practices, routes and the training of drivers. The incident prompted debate over whether such tragedies were isolated accidents or signs of a deeper structural safety problem in the country’s marine tourism sector.