The man was rescued by the Sirinamchok 8 fishing boat around midnight and given first aid before being dropped off at the Fish Marketing Organisation pier at 8.30am. The exhausted man was sent for a check-up at Vachira Phuket Hospital because he had spent hours in the sea.

On Thursday night Sergay Larichev and other compatriots who had been in the boat, plus the driver of their chartered speedboat went to Chalong Police to report that Somov was swept away by waves while snorkelling and fishing near Koh Racha Noi. Strong waves pushed the Russians away from the boat but Larichev and others were rescued by a passing by fishing boat, that took them to the speedboat. But with Somov still not found after an initial search, they alerted police. A search until 7pm on Thursday had yielded no result. The speedboat driver claimed he had warned the tourists the waves were strong but they insisted on swimming.