PHUKET: Officials are waiting for the results of drug tests on the driver and the attendant of a speedboat that hit rocks off the southern island on Sunday afternoon, killing a Russian girl and injuring nine others.
Somsook Samphanprateep, Phuket's deputy health chief, said on Monday that an initial test on Natthawut Wongwilai, the 41-year-old boat driver, found a substance in the amphetamine category. However, officials concerned had yet to identify the specific substance.
The attendant of the speedboat, the Apirak, also underwent a drug test, the results of which are awaited.
The twin-engine boat hit rocks near Koh Mai Thon island "at high speed" when it was carrying seven Russian tourists back from the Phi Phi islands towards Phuket at about 3.20pm on Sunday. Neither the weather nor the waves posed any danger for boats at the time.
A five-year-old Russian girl died in the crash, and seven other Russian tourists were injured, three of whom have already been discharged from hospitals. The two others injured were the boat driver and the attendant.
"The speedboat hit rocks near Koh Mai Thon at high speed. Everyone suffered a heavy impact," Mr Somsook said. "Five were severely injured. Three are tourists. The others are the driver and the boat attendant."
The driver sustained multiple wounds on his face, the health official added. Doctors were monitoring the function of his brain and spine, he was dependent on a respirator and would need an operation.
Among those injured, a 45-year-old Russian woman suffered a punctured liver and broken pelvis. A Russian man had ruptured lungs, while a three-year-old Russian child suffered an impact to the head.