Two foreigners were killed and two others missing after a speedboat capsized off a Thai resort island.
Officials said the vessel was carrying 32 tourists and four crew members to Koh Samui.
Police Maj. Gen. Apichart Boonsriraj said Friday that both the dead were women. One was a Briton and the other is a German national.
The incident occurred as the boat traveled from the Ang Thong islands to Samui, Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said.
Pichet Sudduan, a port official, said the boat capsized because of strong winds and high waves.
The tourists were thrown overboard and some were trapped underneath it. Apichart said the missing tourists were from Hong Kong and Britain. No Americans were listed as among the injured.
Justin Hawes, an American from Los Angeles visiting the region, told NBC News that trips had been delayed for a couple of days by weather conditions, which reassured him that operators were looking after welfare of passengers.
"They wouldn't let anyone go out because of the water and the waves," Hawes said.
Hawes and two other Americans he is traveling with went on a snorkeling trip from Samui the day of the accident. He said the water was calm around the island but once in the open water it got choppy.
“At times it did get a little but nerve-racking but never once did I worry," Hawes said.
