Tuesday, 29 March 2011
British holidaymakers are among hundreds of tourists stranded by floods on a popular Thai resort island.
Many foreign travellers spent the night at Koh Samui's airport after flights were suspended indefinitely because of the rising waters.
Five days of heavy rain have left many roads flooded on the island, whose pristine beaches and tropical climate attract thousands of UK holidaymakers every year.
British photographer Marco Ryan was among those stranded.
He wrote on Twitter: "Stuck in Koh Samui. Storms creating havoc. Water to 6ft in hotels. Streets disappeared. No electricity, water, web or flights. Extraordinary."
The Foreign Office updated its advice on visiting Thailand to take account of the flooding along the south coast of the country.
British travellers are warned to be aware of the risk of mudslides and flash flooding, and advised to monitor local news for updates about the weather.
Virgin Holidays said about a dozen of its travellers were caught up in the floods.
A spokeswoman said: "Virgin Holidays has been proactively contacting its customers via our team in Thailand currently either already in Koh Samui, or due to travel there today, to ensure their wellbeing.
"Where customers have not left us their contact details, we are liaising with their hotels. We will continue to monitor the situation and will update them accordingly."
Lucy Pennington, who works as a travel PR in London, managed to get away from the floods at Railay Beach in southern Thailand today.
She said there had been heavy storms on the normally idyllic peninsula and that constant rain had inundated the area with water.
Ms Pennington wrote on Twitter: "Holiday turning into nightmare. Escaped Railay today, everywhere flooding and I don't know how to get to Bangkok."