BANGKOK, May 4: A ferry carrying 600 tourists hit a reef and sank Sunday near an island 17 miles (27 kilometres) off the beach resort of Phuket, but all passengers were believed to have been rescued, police said, reports AP.

Lt Peerapat Thingnga of the Phuket Police station said there were no reports yet of anyone missing or seriously injured.

The tourists, mostly Thais taking advantage of a long holiday weekend, were picked up by local fishermen plying the waters near Flower Island in the Andaman Sea.

A number of foreigners were among the passengers, however, as Phuket. 690 kilometres (428 miles) southwest of Bangkok, is Thailand's most popular island resort with foreign tourists.

The boat, named the King Ferry and owned by Serm Suk Travel agency, hit Moo Sang reef near Flower Island at about 10 am (0300 GMT) while traveling from Phuket to Phi Phi, a smaller resort island southeast of Phuket.

Peerapat said disaster was

averted because there were enough life jackets for everyone and it took almost an hour for the boat to sink, allowing fishermen from nearby Flower Island to come to the rescue.

"1 felt a big bump when it hit." said Tiffany Gibbs, a 24-year-old vacationer from Hong Kong.

"People were very quiet. Some people were running and there was a scramble for the life Jackets because the boat began to tilt very quickly, but people didn't panic." she said.

Gibbs said she heard no instructions from the crew about what to do after the ferry hit the reef very close to Flower Island.

Radio reports said the ferry captain had fled the scene after being rescued, but police said they believed he had reached Phi Phi in a fishing boat and was helping in rescue attempts from there.

Boonriang Chuchaisangrat, chief public health officer in Phuket, said 200 of the rescued tourists already had arrived at Phuket Harbor, including 15 Westerners and Japanese.