PHUKET - The search resumed on Saturday for a missing Chinese tourist swept away while swimming at Karon beach on Thursday night.
Qin Yuan, 27, was last seen at about 7.30pm on Thursday, officials from the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre Region 3 said on Saturday.
Rescuers immediately began the search after being alerted by Karon municipal officials. Boats and jetskis were deployed but the missing man could not be found.
Karon mayor Jadet Wicharasor said lifeguards told him that a Chinese couple had rented a surfboard on Thursday evening and returned it about 6.30pm.
The couple later went to swim at Karon beach at about 7.30pm, said Mr Jadet. By that time it was dark and all lifeguards had left the beach, but they later learned that a Chinese woman was looking for her husband there.
The municipality and lifeguards coordinated with local officials, police and the Third Naval Fleet to send teams to search for the missing swimmer. The Chinese consular office in Phuket was also closely following the search operation, said the mayor.
The municipality earlier put up warning signs in four languages — Chinese, English, Russian and Thai — and erected red flags in high-risk areas to warn tourists not to swim. However, some people ignored the warnings.
Nine people, five of them foreigners, have drowned so far this year in Phuket, even though 115 lifeguards have been deployed at beaches across the island, according to data from the provincial office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.