Chinese tourist drowned in Phuket

PHUKET, June 14 (TNA) – One Chinese tourist drowned and two others were rescued after they ignored the red flag swimming warning at Phuket’s Kamala beach. Three Chinese young men swam out in the area, placed with the red flag at 6.30 pm yesterday. Lifeguards could rescue two men, 18 and 23 and about 30 rescue workers had searched for the missing 18-year-old man, Wei Peixin, for three hours before they stopped the operation due to the rain and strong wind. The search mission resumed this morning and the body of the 18-year-old man was found floating 50 metres from the beach. His body was sent for an autopsy at Patong Hospital and the authorities contacted the Chinese consulate to inform his relatives and retrieve the body. The two survivors said they came to Thailand with a pre-wedding photo shooting team. After finishing the work late afternoon, they went swimming and were caught in a rip. Phuket governor ordered officials to be on alert and warn tourists not to ignore the swim ban. This month, lifeguards saved about 30-40 tourists from drowning in Phuket. Most of them defied the swim ban and did not know Phuket beaches were steep with watercourses, basins and vortexes. (TNA)