Security authorities in Surat Thani province have offered assurances that Koh Phangan is safe, dismissing reports about a possible terror plot against Israelis on the tourist island as untrue.
They were responding on Wednesday to the news that Israeli authorities had advised their nationals in Thailand to remain vigilant following reports that they might be targeted during the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan on Friday.
Israeli media outlets said the reports of a possible threat were contained in internal Thai police documents. Police reportedly have been carrying out intensive operations in response to the alerts, which were based on “concrete information”, the Israeli news site Ynet said, without elaborating.
Noppadol Khaomali, chief of the Koh Phangan district office in Surat Thani province, called a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the reports. He was joined by Pol Col Panya Niratmanon, the chief of Koh Phangan police and representatives of other agencies.
They said the reports circulating on various local and international media outlets had caused confusion. Police and local officials, they said, were duty-bound to conduct patrols on the island as part of normal security measures during the Loy Krathong festival and the Full Moon Party, which will both take place on Friday.
Reports of a terror plot against Israelis on Koh Phangan were groundless, said police investigators on the island.
Pol Maj Gen Sermphong Sirikhong, chief of the Surat Thani police, said safety measures had been increased to boost confidence among tourists of all nationalities on Koh Phangan.
Natthriya Thaweevong, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, said security agencies and provincial authorities had investigated the reports of a terror plot on Koh Phangan and found they were mere rumour-mongering without factual evidence.
Police, soldiers and local officials have conducted joint patrols to ensure the safety of tourists during Loy Krathong and the Full Moon Party, she added.
The National Security Council in Israel said it had not changed its assessment of the threat level in Thailand, the Times of Israel reported. However, it called on Israelis to remain alert.
Theerut Supawiboonphol, the deputy governor of Surat Thani, said officials told him they had not noted any reports about movements of suspicious people in the area.
However, he has instructed security personnel to increase measures to search suspicious items and people entering Koh Phangan to ensure safety.
On Wednesday afternoon, many foreign tourists boarded a ferry at Koh Samui pier to Koh Phangan, with tourist police and patrol officers keeping a close eye on activity.
Tourists board a ferry to Koh Phangan at the Koh Samui pier on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: Supapong Chaolan)
Noppadol Khaomali, chief of the Koh Phangan district office in Surat Thani, joins police and security agency representatives at a briefing on Wednesday to reassure visitors that the island is safe. (Image from video posted by Koh Phangan police)