Speedboat crash kills three tourists in Thailand

SAMUI: Three foreign tourists were killed and a British man is missing after a speedboat crashed and capsized in bad weather near the southern Thai island of Samui, police said on Friday.

Three women from Great Britain, Germany and Hong Kong were killed in the accident on Thursday, police said. They were among 32 passengers and four crew on board the Ang Thong Explorer when it crashed.



"The reason the speedboat capsized is because of bad weather conditions and because the boat was speeding," Police Colonel Apichart Boonsriroj, commander of Surat Thani province where the crash happened, told Reuters.

"A British national is still missing," he said. One person had been charged with causing death and injuries, Apichart said.



With its palm-fringed beaches, hot climate and world-renowed cuisine, Thailand is a top holiday destination for foreign tourists despite its woeful road and sea safety record.

International tourist arrivals are expected to hit a record high of 32 million in 2016, compared with 29.88 million last year, driven mostly by Chinese tourists.