Tourist dies as boat capsizes
05/09/2007 08:36  - (SA)  

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Bangkok - A Thai boat captain was charged on Wednesday with reckless manslaughter after an Israeli tourist died when his vessel capsized near the paradise holiday island of Phi Phi in southern Thailand, police said.

Suriyan Soison, 34, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to police Lieutenant Colonel Jakra Saowakhon.

The boat carrying 59 people, including five crew, capsized off Phi Phi island on Tuesday as Suriyan tried to escape an approaching storm, Jakra said.

A second Israeli tourist was hospitalised after his legs were gashed by the boat's rotor.

Officials at the Bangkok Hospital branch on the nearby island of Phuket said the 33-year-old was in stable condition after a lengthy surgery on his legs, which had been nearly severed.

The accident came just two weeks after a ferry carrying 42 Thais capsized in rough weather near Phi Phi. Everyone was rescued from that accident.

The postcard-perfect Phi Phi island, made famous in the Hollywood film The Beach, is a jewel of Thailand's tourist industry. Ferries shuttle hundreds of people between the mainland and the island every day.

Phi Phi was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed 700 lives on the island, but it has since regained its allure for local and foreign tourists.

- AFP

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