Originally published on August 29, 2013
Two Chinese tourists were killed and eight injured on Wednesday in a speedboat crash off the coast of Pattaya, Thailand.
According to local reports, the accident happened at around 1:30pm while the speedboat carrying 29 people on board was returning to Pattaya after an outing to Lan Island.
The boat hit the anchor rope of another vessel and flipped over, about 200 metres from the shore.
The two people who died, Dong Feiyue, 30, and Mr.Zhang Tao, 29, were badly lacerated by the boat's propeller.
The boat's captain, Kengkai Boonsri, 23, is among the eight people injured.
According to local reports, China's Embassy in Bangkok is handling the investigation into the crash.
The accident has revived fears over safety standards in the country, which attracted a total of 2.8 million Chinese tourists and a record of 22 million foreign visitors last year.
According to AFP, China has expressed concern at recent accidents during snorkeling trips during which its nationals were killed.
According to local paper Phuket Wan, China's Ambassador Guan Mu warned Phuket officials in May that Chinese tourists should be protected by better safety standards. The same message it is believed to have been carried to Pattaya's authorities.
Ambassadors from other nations have also expressed concern about the safety standards for tourists in Thailand, and the manner in which people with little training are allowed to control speedboats.
On Phuket, a Chinese tourist was killed last year and three others were injured in a banana boat and speedboat crash.
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