Full Moon Party cancelled

Authorities in Thailand today cancelled a beach party popular with backpackers and ravers after two Swedish women drowned in the area, officials said.

Known as the Full Moon Party, the monthly gathering attracts thousands of young people travelling through the region. The two women, identified as Josefin Clarice Viola Ossman, 22, and Maria Johanna Sofia Lindstrom, 22, were swept out to sea near Haad Rin beach in Surat Thani province, which is about 260 miles south of the capital, Bangkok.

Haad Rin is the scene of the monthly Full Moon Party. “The governor has ordered the cancellation of the full-moon party that was to take place tonight,” Police Major Monsak Srisuwan said.