Singaporean tourists saved at Phuket’s Surin Beach

PHUKET: Amid the spate of drownings over the weekend that saw four tourists drown within four days (story here and here), a dramatic rescue by Phuket lifeguards saw two Singaporean tourists being pulled from heavy surf to safety at Surin Beach.

Red “no swimming” flags were flying at Surin Beach, with ocean conditions remaining rough and dangerous despite the sunny weather, an eye-witness reported to the Phuket Gazette.

“The lifeguards were kept busy by the three-meter tides with waves reaching up to two meters combining to make swimming conditions hazardous.

“To keep swimmers safe, lifeguards patrolled the beach throughout the day – verbally warning beachgoers of the treacherous conditions,” he said.

At 2:15pm, as the tide quickly dropped, two swimmers were spotted by lifeguards struggling against a flash rip current.

The Singaporean tourists were being pulled swiftly out to sea and also parallel to the beach.

“Four lifeguards immediately launched a surf rescue in the rough waters from two locations on the beach. They reached the swimmers in distress and towed them back to shore through the heavy surf.

“One victim was so weak lifeguards had to carry him out of the surf,” the eye-witness told the Gazette.

The Singaporean tourists, both 25 years old, were given emergency medical assessments on shore, with one of the men experiencing serious respiratory difficulty.

Oxygen was administered and an ambulance was summoned, and vital signs and findings were telephoned ahead to Thalang Hospital.

A rescuing lifeguard accompanied the victims in the ambulance to hospital.

One of the Singaporeans, Albert, remained hospitalized at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.

At last report, he was in good condition and expected to make a full recovery.