THE MISSING couple were found about 1pm and were being taken for medical assistance after a night spent in the open, police said. Local people found the pair and took them for help, Phuket Police Commander Major General Chote Chawanwiwat told Phuketwan.


PHUKET: Two British tourists on honeymoon are missing in scrub after going for a walk in mountainous waterfall country in central Phuket yesterday afternoon.

Concerns are held for their safety and a major search was being mounted today. About 100 police, volunteers and park rangers are scouring the area.

A helicopter and handlers with sniffer dogs are expected to be added this afternoon.

''I am lost in the forest,'' was the last spoken message to a taxi driver who was supposed to meet the pair. That was soon after 4pm. Later, the mobile went dead.

Police have named the couple as Mohammed Samir, 28, and Hanna Zareen Shaid, 26. They had been staying at a well-known five-star resort in Bang Tao.

The couple went for a walk along trails near a waterfall in the central Thalang area of Phuket yesterday, but failed to arrive back at a point where they were due to be picked up.

The alarm turned into a full scale seach today. Phuket's new Police Commander, Major General Chote Chawanwiwat, has taken charge and will be in a helicopter as it scours the five-kilometre search area this afternoon.

While the weather was fine yesterday, there are areas in the hills of central Phuket that are quite steep. Rain fell around 8pm last night.

The couple, who started their honeymoon on Phuket last Wednesday, caught a taxi from their five-star Bang Tao resort at 12.30pm yesterday to go for a nature walk near Tonsai Waterfall.

The taxi driver returned at 4.18pm, 5pm and at 8pm, but there was no sign of the couple at the designated meeting point.

He spoke with the man about 4.18pm. Later, when contact was lost, he informed officials at the office of the Khao Phra Taew waterfall park.

The taxi driver returned again at 9pm, and stayed there until 3am, when his search with park officers for the couple was abandoned.

At some point during the evening, the couple's resort also notified Thalang police.

Police have acceded to the wishes of the internationally renowned five-star Bang Tao resort that its name be suppressed and not supplied to the media.