A 50-year-old father and his two sons, aged five and seven, were taken to the hospital for evaluation after a night of ordeal but were soon discharged, said local official Amorn Chomchoey.
“We found them exhausted, having swallowed a lot of seawater,” he told the news agency AFP. “They were pale, especially the boys.”
The father rented a jet ski from a local operator on the popular resort island of Samui in the Gulf of Thailand on Thursday around 5 p.m.
The operator became concerned when the family did not return at the agreed time and alerted local rescuers and provincial officials, said A. Chomchoey.
The family was found on Friday around 10 a.m.
Investigators are trying to determine why the jet ski capsized after just 15 minutes of riding, said A. Chomchoey’s secretary, who also works as a translator.
The father told officials he was an experienced jet ski driver, the secretary said.
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However, the jet ski operator told local media that the family appeared to have gone beyond the agreed area specified in the rental contract.
Footage of the rescue operation shared by the Samui district office shows the jet ski almost completely capsized.
One of the boys was sitting on top of the jet ski, and his father was floating nearby; both were wearing life jackets.
One rescuer can be heard shouting “calm down” and “they survived.” Later, the rescuer helped the boy into another boat and provided the family with water.
The family remained in Thailand and continued their vacation, officials reported.
Samui Island is one of the most popular Thai islands for families due to its calm sea and wide selection of resorts, attracting millions of visitors every year.
