A 27-year-old Chinese tourist is still missing at time of press after he went swimming at Karon Beach last night in an area denoted by red flags as a danger spot not suitable for swmming.
Tourist police in Karon were notified around 7:30pm last night by a friend of the man, named as Qin Yuen, who had entered the water before being swept away by the waves.
A search was launched for Mr Yuen last night but was unsuccessful and therefore called off. The search resumed this morning but, as at time of press, officials had confirmed that Mr Yuen had not been found.
The incident prompted tourist police to once again reiterate the importance of red flags at beaches on the island’s west coast and the warning that they represent that it is not safe to swim in such designated areas. Officials called for cooperation from tourists in adhering to such warnings to ensure safety and to minimise the potential loss of life.
Yesterday’s incident comes after a spate of drownings in Phuket in recent months, particualrly among foreign tourists at beaches along the island’s west coast. The most recent example of this was a 27-year-old Indian tourist who drowned at Surin Beach on Wednesday (July 24) after becoming caught in a rip current during an early morning swim with friends.
Late last month, Viroon Chuasaman, Head Lifeguard at Surin-Bang Tao Beach, called for intensive campaigns to educate tourists of the dangers of rip currents and strong waves during the southwest monsoon to help reduce the number of people drowning at tourist-popular beaches.
Mr Viroon told The Phuket News that the current efforts of lifeguards to save tourists from drowning are merely addressing the problem’s symptoms rather than its root cause and called upon the Tourism Authority of Thailand to actively promote the dangers of ignoring red flag warnings during the monsoon season.