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Tourists in dramatic rescue as speedboat sinks
An Australian family has told of their dramatic rescue from a sinking speedboat off the Thai holiday island of Phi Phi.
As the speedboat sank in a storm, Hakan Ergun, 38, from Sydney, cradled his two-year-old daughter in his arms and feared they were both going to die. His wife and another daughter were also on the boat.
He told the Phuketwan newswire, ”I had to kick myself free as the boat went down.
”I thought it was the end. My daughter and I actually went under the water but luckily we surfaced. We were in the water for about 15 minutes."
He added, ”The boat and the crew were hopeless.
”The lifejackets weren’t really life jackets at all. There were buckles missing and it was a miracle everyone stayed afloat.
”The captain and the crew, they had no idea whatsoever. It was every man for himself.”
A total of 37 passengers were on the Phuket to Phi Phi day trip, along with a Thai guide and three crew. A large group of Chinese tourists and two New Zealanders were also on the boat.
Ergun said, ”We were clearly in trouble and everybody was terrified. There was no GPS, no radio. The standards are appalling.”
A spokesman for the Chao Fa Krabi Rescue Centre, who helped in the rescue, said: ”I am very surprised that any kind of small boat was on the water in this weather.”
A speedboat also sank between Phuket and Phi Phi in January this year with a party of Australians on board.
In March 2009, a diving boat capsized in a storm off Phuket. Six tourists and the Thai cook drowned. Twenty-three were rescued.
by Ian Jarrett
Ian Jarrett
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