Israeli and El Salvadoran men rescued from Koh Pha Ngan forest
Tourist Police officers, together with local administrative officials, successfully rescued two foreign tourists, Israeli and Salvadoran men, who became lost in a forest on Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani province last night, February 4.
According to authorities, Koh Pha Ngan Tourist Police received an emergency call via the tourist police hotline 1155 from two foreign men who reported that they were unable to find their way out of a forest near Rin Beach.
The call prompted an immediate coordination effort with officers from Koh Pha Ngan Police Station and local administrative officials to launch a search and rescue operation.
Rescue teams maintained phone contact with the two tourists to determine their location. However, the operation became more challenging when both men’s mobile phone batteries ran out, cutting off communication.
Officers were forced to rely on the last GPS location shared by the tourists, which indicated that they were somewhere between Rin Beach and Yuan Beach.
The search was complicated by difficult terrain and poor weather conditions. The forested area was described as steep, uneven, and dark. Heavy rain further reduced visibility and made the paths slippery, significantly increasing the risks faced by the rescue teams.
After more than two hours of searching, officers eventually located the two missing tourists. They were identified as an Israeli national Zach Izhak Berlinski and a Salvadoran man Boris Andres Ponton.
Both men were found exhausted due to a lack of food and water but were otherwise unharmed. Rescue workers provided initial care and ensured the men were stable before escorting them safely out of the forest and back to a secure location.
The two tourists later told officers that they had entered the forest on the evening of February 3 while exploring the natural scenery on Koh Pha Ngan.
However, heavy rain made it difficult for them to recognise the route back, and as daylight faded, they became disoriented. Realising they could not find their way out, they decided to call for help.
A similar incident was reported three weeks earlier in Chiang Mai province, when a British cyclist became lost in the Huay Pang Por Forest after choosing a forest route to enjoy the scenery. He was later rescued safely along with his bicycle after seeking help from local officials.
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