The accident took place at about 2.30 am as the speed boat was heading for the mainland from Koh Samed with 28 tourists after the end of a concert held on Sai Kaew beach on the island.

One of the tourists, , said went to the concert with four friends and, after the concert, they all took the speed boat with the other tourists for the mainland in Rayong province.

But about five minutes after leaving a pier at Koh Samed, he said the speed boat rammed into a freighter which was anchoring in the sea. The collision threw several passengers off the boat and into the sea.

28 people were plucked from the sea and sent ashore for medical treatment.

The skipper, Mr Winai Trakulwong, admitted that he didn’t see the freighter because it did not switch on any light on board at all.

A search and rescue team was dispatched to the scene of the accident and surrounding area at dawn to look for passengers who might have been overlooked.