An American went missing while surfing in the sea off Nai Harn beach in Phuket yesterday while his three-year-old son was safely rescued by life guards.
Life guards posted to Nai Harn Beach responded quickly to a call for help from the Thai wife of the American, James Everett Boyles, and managed to pull their three-year-old from the sea.
The woman, who was swimming near the shore, later told emergency workers that she felt currents pulling her away from the shoreline and immediately went ashore.
She said she realised that her husband, who was surf-boarding not far from the beach, was being pulled further out to the sea and shouted for help.
Emergency workers searched for the American until nightfall, but failed to find him. The search was expected to resume today.
Meanwhile, the Department of Mineral Resources has instructed its emergency volunteers to alert people living at the bases of mountains and near watercourses in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Tak, Chiang Rai, Nan, Kanchanaburi and Trat provinces to the possibility of landslides and flash floods today and tomorrow due to heavy rain.
The areas have been lashed by 150mm of rain in the past 24 hours.
The Meteorological Department also forecasts heavy to very heavy rain from today until June 16, as a monsoon trough prevails over the north and northeast.
This is compounded by a south-westerly monsoon looming over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf, where moderate winds and waves prevail.
