Body found in search for second Briton after Thai speedboat crash
The body was found near the accident site, bringing the number of fatalities to four
A body has been found in the search for a British man missing for four days following a speed boat crash in Thailand - having been recovered close to the area where the boat capsized.
Authorities had been searching for Jason Parnell, since the incident on Thursday, when a huge wave hit the boat off the coast of the island of Koh Samui.
Mr Parnell, 46, had been on the boat with his wife with the couple celebrating his first wedding anniversary. Mrs Parnell is believed to have escaped unharmed.
The boat was carrying 32 tourists and four crew when it capsized 300 metres from the shore after being struck by a wave.
All of the passengers were thrown overboard, with some trapped beneath the ship’s hull.
“Rescue workers found his body at 9:25am near the accident site,” Lieut Gen Ukhcarawath Sithanaubol, told news agency AFP.
“His body was trapped among the rocks. Rescue workers are bringing his body ashore by rubber boat now and we have called off the search operation,” he added.
The bodies of three women were recovered shortly after the accident, but rough seas hampered the search for Mr Parnell.
The victims include British tourist Monica O’Connor, who was in Thailand celebrating her honeymoon with her husband of three weeks, MailOnline reported.
“We are supporting the family of a British woman who has sadly died following a boat accident near Koh Samui, Thailand,” the Foreign Office said.
The other two victims were named by Thai authorities as 30-year old Hong Kong national Trunk Laidka and 29-year-old German Kafo Franeiska.
Seven people remain in hospital with serious injuries.
The captain of the boat has been charged with negligence leading to death and injuries, the Guardian reports.
But according to the BBC, police said the boat was licensed to carry 45 passengers, so it was not overcrowded at the time of the accident.