At least 1 tourist dead & 7 trapped in Thailand as resort hotel ‘popular with foreigners’ collapses

A two-story hotel at a beach resort on Thailand’s Ko Chang island partly collapsed on Saturday morning, burying several families, including a two-year-old child, local police said. At least one foreign tourist has died and seven remain trapped.

The Siam Beach Hotel is a popular destination for tourists on an island located in Trat Province in the Gulf of Thailand.

Koh Chang police chief Pol Col Arwat Pibulsawat told local outlet The Nation that a two-year-old child was among the trapped tourists.

Social media reports suggested that torrential rains had led to the collapse, and district chief Kamthon Wehon speculated the deluge had caused the land to subside, adding that the hotel is built next to a mountain.

Rescuers, who have already freed several tourists from the rubble, are working at the scene.