An Austrian man was arrested in Krabi on Thursday for allegedly driving a jet ski that struck and killed a Russian man off Karon Beach in Phuket on Tuesday.

Police and immigration officers arrested David Robert Herbst, 25, on Koh Phi Phi in the southern province of Krabi following an investigation into the fatal incident.

The incident was reported around 7pm on Tuesday by a food stall operator in tambon Karon, who was alerted by a foreign national witnessing the crash. The tourist provided a video of the incident, which the stall operator then shared with the police.

At 12.45am on Wednesday, local fishermen discovered the body of a 58-year-old Russian man near rocks in the area.

The Russian arrived in Thailand on Dec 11 and was scheduled to stay until Sunday, staying alone at Lae Lay Suites Karon.

According to police, he was seen walking from his accommodation to Karon beach around 5.15pm on Tuesday before going for a swim.

An initial autopsy showed he died from drowning, with no evidence of being struck by a hard object, and no broken bones were found.

Police then examined CCTV footage and located the foreign witness.

The tourist confirmed that the Russian man had been struck by the jet ski. CCTV footage confirmed this, showing the speeding jet ski striking him before fleeing the scene.