PHUKET: Following a three-day search, a Russian woman who went missing from a beach last Thursday is believed to have drowned.
Elena Rusradchenko, 53, was last seen at Nai Thon beach in Thalang district on Thursday evening and police were informed of her disappearance on Friday.
Bancha Thanu-in, the Thalang district chief, said a search centre had been set up at Nai Thon beach and more than 100 people had joined the effort, which began on Friday night by land, sea and air.
Searchers scoured Nai Thon beach, a line of rock formations along the beach, construction camps, an elephant kraal, and the forest.
Rubber dinghies were used to search in the sea along the shore, and a helicopter from the 3rd Naval Area was provided for an aerial search.
On Sunday at 6pm, provincial governor Narong Woonciew chaired a meeting where he was briefed on the search.
Rusradchenko: Seen on beach
Afterwards, Mr Narong said the Russian tourist was believed lost in the sea.
He said the Russian consulate in Phuket and the Russian embassy in Bangkok had been informed, while friends have offered a reward of US$10,000 (381,000 baht) to anyone who has information on her whereabouts.
Pol Col Pichetpong Chaengkhaikhom, the Phuket tourist police chief, said the missing woman arrived with a group of friends on Oct 16.
They stayed at a hotel at Nai Thon beach.
The group was scheduled to fly home on Oct 29.
Trin Panyawai, chairman of Sakhu Tambon Administration Organisation, said CCTV cameras in the area had last captured an image of the woman between 10pm-12am on Oct 20.
She was standing under a pine tree on Nai Thon beach before taking off a pair of shoes.
The CCTV camera also captured a picture of a hotel towel on the beach. That was the last that was seen of her, he said.