Tourists stranded on Koh Tachai rescued by navy vessel
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The Royal Thai Navy Region 3's "Pattani" offshore patrol vessel stranded on Koh Tachai safely delivered the 455 tourists to Phang Nga Navy Base in Phang Nga's Thai Muang district at 4am today.
The Songkran revellers had been stranded on Koh Tachai in Kura Buri district since Tuesday afternoon because of storms and high waves. The vessel was dispatched at 7pm Tuesday to the island 80km off the coast.
Commander Sakda Wattanatham said loading the stranded tourists onto the vessel had not been simple as Koh Tachai Beach was affected by strong winds and high waves. Extra care was taken in transferring the 455 tourists from the shore to the vessel and the exercise took two hours to complete.
Phang Nga Navy base chief, Rear Admiral Weerapan Sukkon urged tourists and tour companies to be extra cautious while island hopping during this period, pointing out that the weather was often bad and weather reports should be checked regularly.
The storm on Tuesday afternoon storm also caused a diving vessel, the “Chaoying Noy” (Little Princess) to capsize about three sea miles off Koh Tachai. The 28 tourists and crewmembers were rescued by a nearby boat.
