CHON BURI - Twenty-three Indian tourists, including several children, received the shock of their lives when the boat they were in sprang a leak and sank off the northern Pattaya coast.
Fortunately, two speedboats were nearby and they were all rescued, near Koh Jun island, about 1.5km out to sea, on Thursday afternoon, said Pol Col Apichai Krobphet, chief of Pattaya police.
Rescue workers rushed to the scene. Many of the upset tourists sustained bruises and were given first aid. They later returned to their hotels.
An investigation has begun into the cause of the boat sinking.
Tour guide Supaporn Ketkadw said the boat was returning from Koh Sak after taking the tourists to swim at the island's beaches. On the way back to Pattaya the boat suddenly developed a leak near Koh Jun. Water quickly flooded into the boat, sending the passengers in a panic.
Luckily, two speedboats were not far away and they got all everybody off before the boat sank below the surface and took them ashore.
Aekarach Khantharo, head of the regional marine office in Pattaya, later ordered all small boats, including speedboats, not to take tourists to Koh Larn at this time, because strong winds were whipping up the waves to dangerous levels.
A rescue volunteer gives first aid to an Indian woman after she and 22 other tourists were rescued from a boat that sank off Pattaya in Chon Buri on Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)