After a walk on the beach, Russian tourists get lost in Phuket jungle

A walk on the beach turned into a disaster for two Russian tourists who ended up getting lost in a Phuket jungle on Tuesday night.

The head of Sirinat National Park, Sorasak Rananan, said the park received a notification from the Phuket Tourist Police at 10pm that two tourists were lost near the Sai Koo Mountain in the area of the park in the Sakoo sub-district. The two missing people were 37 year old Alexandr Simakov, and 40 year old Ekaterina Simakov. They were believed to be halfway between Nai Thon Beach and Nai Yang Beach.

After midnight on Wednesday morning, a search was launched by park officers, Phuket Tourist Police, the village headman, volunteers from Moo 4 Sakhu, and the rescue team from Sakhu Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor).

At 12.50am, the team found Alexander and Ekaterina near the rocks in the Khao Sai Khu area, The Phuket News reported. Sorasak said the two had minor abrasions and one had a foot injury. Fortunately, the team led the tourists out of the jungle and gave them first aid before transporting them to a hospital.

Alexander and Ekaterina had been walking along Nai Yang Beach, and they had continued to walk into the jungle southwards into the Khao Sai Khu area in the park. The two then couldn’t find their way out, Sorasak said. Alexander and Ekaterina contacted Tourist Police for help.

The Tourist Police last year relaunched their ‘I Lert U’ app, available on Google Play and Apple Store. The app is available in English and Thai and is linked to the Tourist Police 1155 Emergency Response Centre.

Getting lost in Thai jungles is not an uncommon occurrence.

On February 26, a New Zealand tourist got lost in a forest on Thailand’s Koh Pha Ngan island in the southern Surat Thani province. Officers found him near a hill at Khom Beach. Although the tourist appeared paranoid at first, officers managed to convince him to come down from the hill.

On February 13, two French tourists got lost in a forest in Phuket. The boyfriend and girlfriend followed a trail up the Nai Thon mountain but found themselves lost and unable to find their way back. Luckily, the couple had a phone signal and called the Tourist Police using WhatsApp. They were then rescued.