At 10:10am, a tour guide from the ‘Seastar’ tour company put out an emergency call requesting assistance from rescue authorities of the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Area Command about a drowning on Koh Ha (Island 5).
Chinese national Mrs Zheng Guiping, 47, had reportedly been struggling at sea for between three-five minutes whilst on a trip to the Similan Islands before being recovered from the water by the rescue team, according to a Navy officer.
She was taken to Koh Miang (Island 4) on dinghy where Navy officers performed CPR.
According to the Navy official, Mrs Guiping’s first symptoms were “unconsciousness, no pulse and no breathing.”
“Rescuers opened the respiratory tract and performed three cycles of CPR. Another speedboat arrived at 11:40am to take her to Tab Lamu Pier, Phang Nga province where an ambulance awaited.
Mrs Guiping was then transferred to to Takua Pa Hospital and then brought to Mission Hospital in Phuket,” the Navy official told The Phuket News.
“We were told that Mrs Guiping has a history of high blood pressure, so the CPR had to be adjusted accordingly,” the official added.
Soon after, at 11.30am, National Park officials were notified that a tourist from the ‘Wow Andaman’ tour company had drowned at the beach at Koh Miang (Island 4).
Mr Kang Shinsung, 33, a Korean citizen, had been recovered form the water by another tourist after struggling at sea for two-three minutes, according to the same Navy official.
“Navy rescuers then performed CPR on the man, and the primary symptoms were pulmonary edema, and choking on blood. The medical rescue continued as we transported the man to Tab Lamu Pier where an ambulance was waiting to deliver him to Thai Muang Hospital in Phang Nga province,” the official confirmed.