Somprasong Seangchart, the chief lifeguard at Patong Beach, however, was aware of the incident.
“There were two jet-skis driven by tourists. They lost control in strong waves and jumped off the jet-skis before the jet-skis hit the rocks,” he told The Phuket News.
“One jet-ski was turned upside down and water got into the motor. The other jet-ski looked like it had much more damage, and the body of the jet-ski looked broken.”
Nucha Petchvimon, President of the Patong Jet Ski Club, said he was unaware of the accident, but added that was “not unusual”.
“I don’t know about any jet-ski accident at Kalim. Usually, the tourist and the jet-ski figure it out by themselves with Patong Police,” he said.
Yet, Maj Teerasak Boonseng, who was the Patong Police duty officer on Wednesday, today confirmed that he had not received any reports of the accident.
Likewise, Phuket Tourist Police Chief Lt Col Nareuwat Phutwiro also said he knew nothing of the accident.
“I am supposed to be informed of any incidents regarding tourists’ safety. We will certainly follow this up now,” he told The Phuket News.
Patong jet-ski boss Nucha pointed out that the tourist who was riding the heavily damaged jet-ski might be facing a bill of up to B500,000.
“Honestly, a jet-ski costs B400,000 to B500,000,” he said.
“We have set our own standard fees to charge for damages to jet-skis,” he added.
“If the damage is only small, the insurance will cover it, but the insurance covers only up B50,000. If the damage is more than that, the driver must pay for it,” Mr Nucha explained.
“The driver will also have to pay B3,000 per day for loss of earnings, up to a maximum of B15,000,” he said.
Col Nareuwat of the Phuket Tourist Police urged any persons who find themselves having to pay for damages to rented jet-skis in Phuket to notify the Tourist Police.
“Usually, such tourists have to pay at least B10,000 before they will be allowed to return to their home countries,” he said.
A jet-ski rental company at Bang Tao was ordered to shut down last year by the then-Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong after employees demanded a Chinese tourist pay exorbitant repair fees totalling B200,000 following a collision between two of the craft when the tourist rented them out with family members. (See story here).