Phuket readies marine safety measures for Thai prime minister’s visit

As a visit from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to assess Phuket‘s sea safety measures approaches, the island’s officials confirmed 100 lifeguards will be deployed across all main beaches.

One of the highlights of the 61 year old prime minister’s visit will be a demonstration of the Phuket Marine Disaster Response Plan. A full rehearsal of this plan was carried out recently at Patong Beach, a popular spot among tourists. The sea safety rehearsal showcased three emergency response exercises that will be performed for Prime Minister Srettha.

The first of these sea safety exercises was an air-sea rescue, simulated by a Royal Thai Navy helicopter. This exercise mimicked a situation where a tour boat is in distress, leaving tourists stranded in the water. The second exercise simulated a lifeguard rescue of a tourist caught in a rip current, presuming that the tourist ignored the red no swimming flags and lifeguards’ warnings.

The third scenario was a sea safety drill by an armed police response team. They simulated apprehending an armed tourist posing a public danger on Bangla Road. The identification of the suspect was made using a computerised face-detection system, referred to by the officials as AI.

These exercises will be performed in front of the Bangkok-born PM during his visit, providing a spectacle for tourists in Patong. However, the report from the rehearsal also highlighted a potential concern. With 100 lifeguards distributed across 11 main beaches, this equates to fewer than 10 lifeguards per beach.

The west coast of Phuket is lined with several popular beaches, including Nai Harn, Kata Noi, Kata, Karon, Patong, Kamala, Surin, Bang Tao, Layan, Laypang, Nai Ton, Nai Yang, and Mai Khao. Collectively, these beaches stretch over 31 kilometres, meaning that on average, there is one lifeguard for every 310 metres of beach, reported Phuket News.

This average, however, doesn’t factor in that lifeguards are stationed in pairs, resulting in two lifeguards covering over half a kilometre of beach. The calculation also leaves out smaller but popular tourist beaches like Freedom Beach, nestled between Patong and Karon.

While Patong lifeguards regularly report their surf rescue statistics and other incidents, no such data is publicly available from other lifeguard units on the island. Despite the establishment of a provincial water safety committee last year, Phuket officials do not report any statistics regarding tourist rescues or drownings.