UPDATING All Day, Every Day
THE DEAD men have been named as Oleg Ozerskikh, 52, who was due to end his two-week holiday on Sunday, and Liu Haifeng, 33. One was staying at the Hilton, the other at Movenpick.
Original Report
PHUKET: Two men - a Russian and a Chinese - died in the water at Karon beach today almost at the same time as Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud announced a plan to improve tourist safety.
Governor Maitree said that tour guide parties need to be limited to 20 people so that they can be properly cared for.
He also aims to call on airlines and tour companies to promote safety concerns - especially among Chinese - before the holidaymakers reach Phuket's beaches.
In a day of double tragedy at Phuket's Karon beach, a Russian man aged about 55 collapsed in the shallows opposite the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa about 10am.
An attempt was made to revive the man on the beach but he died in an ambulance before reaching Patong Hospital.
At 3pm, a Chinese tourist told lifeguards on the beach opposite the Movenpick Resort that her husband had ''just disappeared.''
Lifeguard immediately began looking for the man and found his body in about two metres of water.
Both bodies are at Patong Hospital - the latest in an unprecedented death toll on Phuket's popular west coast beaches so far this year.
Chinese tourists have drowned in substantial numbers. Water safety experts believe Phuket's authorities must alert all visitors to potential dangers before they reach the beaches.
A meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall in Phuket City was told today that Airports of Thailand, managers of Phuket International Airport, will call a meeting of Chinese airlines, tour operators and others connected to the industry for next Tuesday.
Governor Maitree is hoping to persuade the airlines and the tour operators to improve their warnings to tourists in advance of them reaching Phuket's beaches.
It's believed many people now coming to Phuket are from regions of the world with no beaches. As a result, poor swimmers or non-swimmers have no understanding of the potential dangers.
The appeal to airlines and tour operators is an acceptance that lifeguards need more help to prevent tragedies. By the time people reach the beaches, it's often too late to educate them.
Phuket's Public Health department gave Phuketwan monthly updates on the drowning toll and Phuket's road toll until April last year when release of the figures ceased without explanation.
I saw the Russian man in Karon being rushed to the ambulance and the guys who were carrying the stretcher dropped it and the man rolled down on the floor. He wasn't properly secured on the stretcher, that's really poor rescue skills and it's not acceptable.
Posted by JK on October 24, 2013 17:24