Seven dead after boat capsizes

An overcrowded boat carrying revellers from a beach party capsized last night in the Gulf of Thailand, killing at least seven people.

Four westerners are among the dead, officials said. Nine others were injured. About 30 of the approximately 40 people on the boat were rescued.

The speed boat was travelling from Pha-Ngan Island, which attracts thousands of young foreigners to monthly full moon parties, to the larger resort island of Samui.

There was some uncertainty about the identities of the dead, who included three Thais and four Westerners.

Some Israeli survivors confirmed that a dead woman was an Israeli, but did not know her name. A dead man was believed to be an American because of a credit card found on his body.

The bodies of two other people, believed to be 30 to 35 years old, did not carry any identifying documents.

About four people are missing, including the skipper of the boat, Samran Rungruen, who may have fled the scene.

The vessel was designed to carry about 25 passengers, but according to survivors was travelling with at least 40, most of them drunk. The boat capsized about three miles from Samui’s pier.

The accident occurred at about 5 am (10pm Irish time).

Hospital officials on Samui said nine people had been admitted for treatment with minor injuries, including four Estonians and one American.

The Lonely Planet guide book to Thailand describes the monthly event at Pha-Ngan, as “the biggest beach party in the world”, sometimes attracting more than 12,000 revellers who dance, drink, have sex and take drugs on one of the island’s beaches.

Samui, one of Thailand’s top tourist destinations, was not affected by the Boxing Day tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people in the country, most of them on the island of Phuket.

Many tourists have cancelled stays on Phuket since last month’s disaster and moved to Samui, 285 miles south of Bangkok, and surrounding islands in the Gulf of Thailand.