Pattaya Girls

Pattaya speed boat similar to the ones that crashed.

Yesterday there was a terrible accident down at the beach. Two Pattaya speedboats rammed into each other at high speed. One of the boats apparently sank immediately and the other wound up stranded in shallow water. Two Chinese tourists were killed in the incident and at least 15 others were injured in the crash. Two Chinese nationals remain in the ICU unit at Pattaya Memorial Hospital but appear to be recovering.

Tourists from at least four different countries were affected by the crash. Those injured included citizens from Britain, the Middle East, China and Russia. Both boat captains as well as crew were Thai.

One of the boats, the Tawatchainamchok, was carrying a group of 29 Chinese tourists on their way back from an excursion to Ko Lan. The other boat was the New Friend which was just heading back out to sea at the time of the incident.

You can go down to the beach just about any day of the week and see these crazy boat captains racing in and out with little regard to the rules of the road or any navigational safety whatsoever. The worst offenders are the ones that carry the damned parasailors.

These speed boats go out in almost any conditions in order to make a buck. Yesterday was no exception. The boats are often overloaded and there doesn’t seem to be any safety regulations to speak of.

Witnesses reported that the two boats were heading right towards each other. Both captains tried to swerve to avoid the collision but the side of New Friend smacked violently into the back of the other boat. The Tawatchai immediately sank stern first.

Other boats in the area sped over to aid in the rescue. The whole scene took place about 100 yards off shore with the survivors eventually being helped up onto the beach. Most of the victims just suffered bumps and bruises and were treated right there at the beach.

Our condolences go out to the families of the men who perished.