Thai authorities must strengthen risk management to protect tourists
SEARCH AND RESCUE operations are continuing after two boats carrying Chinese tourists sank off Phuket Island in Thailand. Although all 42 on board one of the vessels were rescued, 41 Chinese tourists died when the other vessel sank and 14 are still missing. Beijing News comments:
Who is responsible for the accident? Just as media outlets reported, it is the boat company and the travel agency, which insisted on the boats sailing despite meteorological warnings.
As early as Wednesday, the local weather stations had warned about storms near Phuket, and the Phuket Marine Office announced that any boats less than 10 meters long planning to travel to Phi Phi Island and Racha Island were not allowed to leave port. However, the two boats carrying Chinese tourists still sailed on Friday.
