TEARS were flowing on the holiday island of Phi Phi today over the tragic deaths of two tourists, a Norwegian and an American, both women.

Doing the crying was no friend or relative, but the owner of the guesthouse where the two women fell sick, and later died not far away in the local hospital.

Many questions still remain about Rooms 4 and 5 at the Laleena Guesthouse, where the naked occupants, two couples, suffered from some strange malaise that killed two of them at the weekend.

The guesthouse owner, Rat Chuped, opened Laleena a year before the 2004 tsunami swept over Phi Phi, killing more than 800 people.

But the latest mystery is seen by many locals on the island as posing the same kind of threat to Phi Phi's appeal to tourists.

The conflict now is between those who want the facts to be told and the mysterious deaths of the two women fully explained, and those who see the tragedy as an unwelcome threat to the island's most essential industry.

I visited the guesthouse today. All kinds of rumors have sprung up because of the strange nature of the deaths, and the holiday paradise that is Phi Phi.

Americans Ryan Kells and Jill St Onge were in Room 4, with Norwegian pair Julie Michelle Bergheim and her friend, who signed the register as ''Karina,'' in Room 5.

Today only Ryan Kells and ''Karina'' are alive. Their companions died in tragic but similar circumstances, within hours of each other, on Sunday and early on Monday morning.

Ryan Kells has since told his story in full online on a blog site, and responded to media requests.

''Karina,'' a 19-year-old Norwegian, has remained anonymous and was said today by a local priest to be catching a flight back to Norway on Friday.

She probably knows as much as anyone about the strange circumstances that left two young women dead and a holiday island fearing for its future.

The room maid at the Laleena, who did not wish her name to be used, told her version of events for the first time today.

She said the American couple arrived on Saturday about 11am and booked an air-conditioned room, Room 4. They had moved from another guesthouse on the island.

The couple seemed to sleep until about 8pm. The room maid said there was a notice in every room, advising people to call her telephone number if they had a problem.

She finished work at 8pm.

On Sunday morning, the maid, who stays at the guesthouse, found it strange that nobody had emerged, and checked with the security guard at premises opposite the Laleena.

He told her he had seen the American man make an appearance about 3am, and then later, had seen a couple. But he was not sure whether it was the Americans or the Norwegians, the maid said.

About 7am on Sunday, the American man opened the room door and asked the maid for help. He said: ''My girlfriend needs a doctor.''

Both Americans were not wearing clothes, she said, but the man was wrapped in a sheet, or a towel.

The maid said the American man helped to take his girlfriend to the island hospital, in a hand cart.

The maid was told later that the American woman died at the hospital.

The Norwegian women had been at the guesthouse since April 30, and were staying until May 6, yesterday.

The two women normally woke up around noon, the maid said, and usually emerged to say ''Hello.''

But they stayed in Room 5 on Sunday until 8pm, when the maid knocked on the door. Nobody answered.

She opened the door with her master key and found the two women naked on the bed.

''Karina'' said, weakly, ''We need a doctor.'' The maid said she called Phi Phi hospital, but there was no answer.

Because Phi Phi has no motorised transport, the maid and a male friend put the two Norwegian women in handcarts. They pushed the sick couple to the local hospital.

By that time, the maid was to learn later, the American woman had already died at the hospital.

''Why did doctor take so long to make a diagnosis?'' the maid said, ''One person had already died that day.

''The Norwegians should have been sent on straight away to a bigger and better hospital.''

The older of the two women, who was most ill, died about 1.30am at the Phi Phi hospital, the maid learned later.

Some of the tears shed today by guesthouse owner, Rat Chuped were for herself, and for Phi Phi.

She has closed her establishment, even though she says she knows her premises are spotless and in no way connected to the deaths.

The air-conditioning units have been checked regularly every three months, the last time in March, she said.

She cannot explain how two people fell sick at Laleena and later died.

But she does suspect the island's tourist drinking culture, where buckets are filled with mixtures of alcohol, energy drinks and fruit concoctions.

After dark, many young tourists trip from one bar to another, drinking their ''bucket,'' and perhaps more.

By day, Phi Phi is a charming, natural place, but after dark, it becomes noisy, crowded, and no longer sober.

Most young visitors join in the drunken fun after dark.

Autopsies should certainly reveal the presence of alcohol. Official inquiries are continuing.

But until ''Karina'' gives her account, Phi Phi and the outside world will be left to wonder.

with additional reporting by Alan Morison

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