BANGKOK: The naked bodies of two British
tourists were found beaten to death on a Thai
beach Monday, police said, sparking a murder
hunt on the popular resort island of Koh Tao.
The unidentified man and woman, both aged 24,
were found with several wounds near a
beachside bungalow on the island, a diving hot-
spot near Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.
A bloodied hoe was found 35 metres (115 feet)
from the murder scene, local police official
Jakkrapan Kaewkhao said.
"They were murdered and found naked on the
beach. The woman had three wounds on her
face and the man had four wounds on his
back," he added.
"Their bodies were found 30 metres from (the)
bungalow," he said, adding the pair arrived in
Thailand on August 25.
Police were told at 6:30 am (2330 GMT
Sunday) and are interviewing witnesses but
have yet to identify a suspect or motive, he
added.
Distraught friends of the victims gathered at the
local police station, another officer said.
Checkpoints have been set up at the island's
piers although the ferries are still running.
"This is a very cruel crime," Prachum
Ruangthong, superintendent of Koh Phangan
police station, told AFP, adding the bodies
would be sent for forensic examination in
Bangkok.
Witnesses tod police the pair were earlier seen
dancing at a local bar, Prachum said.
In a statement the British Embassy in Bangkok
said officials are "urgently seeking information
from local authorities".
"Consular staff stand ready to provide
assistance to friends and family at this tragic
time," it added.
A shocked employee at the budget seaside
resort where they were staying told AFP the
bodies were found behind large rocks on the
beach.
"It was the first time this has happened on the
island, I have never seen anything like this," the
staff member added, requesting anonymity.
Koh Tao is popular with tourists but draws
fewer travellers than the neighbouring Koh
Phangan, home to the hedonistic "full moon"
party.
Thailand's lucrative tourism industry has been
battered in recent months after a prolonged
political crisis ended in a coup which saw the
army blanket the country with a curfew and
strict martial law.
Although the curfew was swiftly lifted from key
tourist hotspots, visitor numbers have yet to
rebound.
Military leaders have vowed to restore the
nation's reputation as the "Land of Smiles" with
a clean-up targeting tourist resorts after a
series of complaints about scams, assaults and
even police extortion.
Britain says Thailand is the country where its
citizens are second most likely to require
consular assistance if they visit, behind the
Philippines.
There were 389 deaths of British nationals in
Thailand in the year to March 2013 -- about
one for every 2,400 British visitors or residents
-- although that figure includes natural causes.
But it is rare for tourists to be murdered in
Thailand, although visitors frequently perish in
accidents.
In July last year a 51-year-old American tourist
was stabbed to death after an apparent row in
a bar in Krabi, another popular tourist haven.
His death came just weeks after another
American was slashed to death by a taxi driver
in Bangkok after an apparent argument over the
fare.
A 59-year-old Australian woman was killed in
June 2012 in an attempted bag snatch on
Phuket.
Two Thai men were later sentenced to life
imprisonment for her murder.