French family drifts 16 hours at sea on half-sunken jet ski off Thailand

A French father and his two young sons spent more than 16 hours stranded at sea after their rented jet ski partially sank off the coast of Thailand. The search for the three was called off when darkness fell, leaving them bobbing on the ocean through the night.

The family was vacationing on Koh Samui when the father rented a jet ski. When he failed to return it after the agreed 45 minutes, the rental company raised the alarm late in the afternoon. Speedboats and other jet skis combed the waters around the island, but the search was suspended overnight and resumed the next morning, when the family was finally found drifting at sea.

The 50-year-old father and his sons, aged 5 and 7, were pale and exhausted after swallowing a lot of seawater, a local official told AFP. They were taken to hospital for a medical check but were quickly released.

According to the father, the jet ski's engine had died in high waves. Footage of the rescue shows one of the boys sitting at the front of the half-sunken craft while the rest of it sits underwater. All three wore life jackets.

Back on the beach, the family was greeted by the mother and the boys' older sister. Thai officials say the family continued their holiday afterward, presumably without renting another jet ski.