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Two children die in Thai speedboat crash
Two young children have died and at least 22 other people were injured in a high-speed speedboat collision off Phuket’s east coast.
The Andaman Leisure Phuket speedboat, was carrying 39 passengers and heading out on a day trip in Phang Nga Bay when it struck another boat.
Passengers on the boat were all Russian tourists.
The two dead children were Russian nationals aged 12 and six years old.
"Two speedboats have collided. There was only the Thai crew on board of one of them, while there were 39 Russian tourists on board of the second one. Over 20 Russians have sustained injuries of various degrees of severity," said Vladimir Pronin, spokesman at the Russian embassy in Thailand.
According to Major Ekachai Siri of the Phuket Tourist Police, a full investigation is underway with authorities detaining both boat drivers.
They have been charged with reckless driving causing death and injury.
It comes 18 months after Thailand’s worst boating accident when 47 Chinese tourists died after a boat sank off Phuket.
That led to a big drop in Chinese visitors to Phuket and a major revamp of marine tourism safety regulations.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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