The two Russians had gone canoeing, but got into trouble when their canoe became swamped. Luckily, the crew of the fishing boat Ongjaroenkit 3 spotted them and fished them out of the water.
Lt Col Chatchai Sakdee, Inspector of Marine Police, told The Phuket News, “We heard about it at around 1:40 pm, and we asked the fishermen to bring them to land.”
The two canoeists were named as Maxim Abaturov, 37, and Valeriy Grakhovskiy, 38, both staying at The Village Coconut Island Beach Resort on Koh Maprao, to which they were eventually returned, none the worse for wear.