Two tourists drown in Samui

SURAT THANI – Two people, one of them a Russian tourist, have drowned near Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui due to strong waves.
The incident occurred on Friday around 1.40 pm when Bo Phut police received a report of two foreign tourists who had fallen off the rocks at the Lad Koh viewpoint on Chaweng Beach. They were swept into the sea by strong waves.
The Kusonsongkhro Koh Samui Rescue Foundation called on a jet ski group to help look for them, but rough seas delayed the search.
A personal item was found at the scene, containing the passport of Kamilla Beliatskaia, a 24-year-old Russian national.
The identity of the second individual, a man, was not yet known.
Police said CCTV footage showed Ms Beliatskaia parking her car and carrying a pink mat to place on the rocks, an area that Koh Samui municipal authorities had closed due to hazardous wave conditions. It is unclear what signage was put up to warn tourists.
Authorities believe she was swept off the rocks into the sea.
During the incident, a man jumped in to try and rescue her, witnesses told police.