CHON BURI: Only one jet ski was involved in the accident which claimed the lives of the driver and his 7-year-old passenger at South Pattaya beach on Monday night, not two as initially believed, a senior marine official said.
It also emerged that the young boy was seated in front of the driver, who was showing him how to drive.
The jet ski was hit by waves and overturned.
The driver drowned. He was not wearing his life jacket. He had given it to the boy to wear. The child was grievously injured and later died in hospital.
The owner has been fined 10,000 baht for operating an unlicensed jet ski, and another 10,000 baht for a second unlicensed jet ski that went out to help after the accident.
It had been widely reported that two jet skis had collided, that the driver of the second machine, a man of Indian appearance, had left the beach before police arrived and was being sought for questioning. This was later found to be incorrect.
Ekkarat Khantharo, director of the Pattaya marine office, said on Tuesday afternoon that an initial investigation found there was no second jet ski involved. He spoke after questioning the owner of the jet ski on Tuesday.
During questioning the boat owner, who was not identified, had said an employee had been driving the jet ski, which he had bought in Suphan Buri for 50,000 baht and had not yet applied for a licence to operate it.
The employee took the jet ski out to give the young boy a 15 minute ride, charging 500 baht. The boy sat in front of the driver. The jet ski hit waves and overturned, leading to the death of the driver, who was not wearing a life jacket at the time. The boy, who was wearing a buoyancy vest, was thrown into the sea and received fatal injuries.
Another jet ski belonging to the same operator went out to help.
The Pattaya marine chief said the owner was fined 10,000 baht for use of an unlicensed jet ski and another 10,000 baht for the second jet ski that went to help, because that was also unlicensed.
Police were initially told, about 7pm, that two jet skis had collided in the sea off the south end of Pattaya beach, near Walking Street.
Thai media reported the dead boy's grandparents had taken him to visit Pattaya. They hired a jet ski driver, at a cost of 500 baht, to take the boy for a ride to view the beauty of the beach from the water. The crash occurred about 30 metres from the shore.
The Marine Department had earlier ordered that jet ski services halt at 6pm for fear of accidents, but some operators ignored the time limit, Thai News Agency reported.
The boy, Pathomporn Polrat, 7, was pulled from the water by jet ski operators. He was seriously injured, including a broken jaw, and was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
The jet ski driver, Pornsuphan Phumnok, 35, was found drowned, located by rescuers after a 30-minute search.
Witnesses said there was a second jet ski involved, that he driver was of Indian appearance and had walked away from the scene after the collision and disappeared.
Police examined security camera recordings from the scene to establish the cause of the accident.
The Marine Department confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that a man was being questioned about the accident. This man was later confirmed to be the jet ski owner. No second jet ski or driver was invovled.
