At least 12 dead in Thailand as tourist boat capsizes, dozens missing

BANGKOK: At least 12 people have died and dozens are missing in Thailand after a boat carrying 150 Thai Muslims capsized in the ancient tourist city of Ayutthaya, officials said on Sunday.

The accident took place on the Chao Phraya river in Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage site located some 80 kms (43 miles) north of the Thai capital Bangkok.

At least 37 were injured and many are still missing as rescue workers continue to search for survivors into the night.

The dead include seven women, four men and one boy, Rewat Prasong, deputy governor of Ayutthaya province, told Reuters.

The passengers were on their way back from a religious activity when the double-decker boat hit the bank of the river before sinking, district chief Suchon Phaitirat told Reuters.

The accident on Sunday comes as Thailand expects to welcome some 33 million visitors this year, a record. Road and boat accidents involving tourists are common in Thailand where safety standards are sometimes well below international norms.

But such accidents barely make a dent on Thailand's tourism industry, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lacklustre economy, nor have a series of bomb blasts in southern Thailand had an impact.

One of the attacks on August 11 and 12 left four Thai people dead and dozens injured, including foreigners. Police have blamed the bombings on Malay Muslim insurgents operating in Thailand's far south.