At least eight people were killed, including an American and four other foreign tourists, while 13 remained missing after an overloaded speedboat capsized Tuesday off Thailand's Koh Samui, police said.
The boat was returning to the southeastern island of Samui from the famous all-night full moon party on the neighbouring island of Koh Phangan which attracts thousands of travellers from around the world. According to police, seven bodies had been recovered while an eighth victim died in hospital.
"We know only one victim's nationality, and that is of the latest, a 25-year-old American man. The remaining four (foreigners) have no identification papers," Lieutenant Colonel Veerayuth Hiran, commander of Samui tourist police, told <i>AFP</i>. The American died at a hospital on Samui, he said.
"Of the three Thais, we believe one was a member of the speedboat crew and the other two were Thai tourists," he added.
Veerayuth said 13 people were missing, all foreign tourists, but police suspected some may have been rescued and would turn up later. Police said 40 passengers had been travelling on the overloaded boat when it capsized a few kilometers from Koh Samui.
