The Surat Thani Provincial Public Relations Office said 26-year-old Alexandra Clarke from Lambeth, south London, was on board when the fire occurredin the ship’s engine room after 09:00 ITC (02:00 GMT) on Sunday.

Koh Tao Police said it believed the boat’s fuel tank overflowed when it was refilled during the journey, then set alight. Officers have charged the captain and crew with negligence.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who is missing in Thailand and are in contact with local authorities.”

The provincial office’s Facebook post said: “After receiving the report (of the fire), the Surat Thani Provincial Marine Office coordinated with private boats and volunteers to quickly help evacuate tourists and crew to another boat safely.”

It added: “One tourist is missing, a female named Alexandra Clarke, a British national.

“The authorities therefore organised a search team for the missing person.”

Thai navy divers spent the day searching the wreckage of the boat and the surrounding seas but found no trace of the missing woman, who police said was thought to have been in the boat’s toilet when the fire broke out.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation but according to police, it broke out when an engine used to compress air into a fuel tank ran out during a trip to a popular dive spot in the Gulf of Thailand.

Col Sarayuth Buriwachira from Koh Tao Police said the tourists and diving instructors had been taken to the Southwest Pinnacle at about 07:30.

He said that at about 10:00 “an employee on the ship whose duty was to fill the air tank took extra gasoline to fill the engine tank above the amount until the gasoline overflowed and spilled”.

“When he started the engine, a spark occurred, causing the engine to catch fire and spread, causing the entire ship to burn and eventually sink into the sea.”

The fire spread quickly, he added, engulfing the engine room and forcing the divers, instructors and crew to jump into the sea.

He confirmed the search for Ms Clarke would resume on Tuesday morning.

The Thai government has frequently promised to improve maritime safety, in particular after 46 Chinese tourists died seven years ago when their boat capsized near Phuket, yet there have been several fatal accidents since then.

Last year more than 100 passengers had to leap into the sea from a ferry heading to Koh Tao after it was consumed by a fire.

Mary Byrne, 69, and her husband Desmond, 77, who emigrated from Middlesbrough in 2021, said they became embroiled in a dispute with a younger couple over access and a small garden.

In December 2023 the Byrnes were alerted to a commotion in their garden but found themselves being kicked and punched in an incident which was caught on CCTV.

Their neighbours were prosecuted, but now Mr and Mrs Byrne have been charged themselves and said they have been told by the British Embassy the outcome could go “either way”.

Mrs Byrne said their neighbours were Thai kickboxers and that the woman “continually stamped on my head” while her husband was “ferociously thumped 22 times”.

“At one stage Des did kick his leg up in defence and as far as we know he did not have contact,” she said.

“I strongly believe, 100%, it was in defence.”

After initially denying charges, the younger couple are understood to have pleaded guilty.

But in May last year Mr and Mrs Byrne were called to a police station and told they were being charged with injuring their neighbours.

The Byrnes said they had their fingerprints taken and passports confiscated.

“We were extremely shocked,” Mrs Byrne said.

“The superficial injuries to both of these people is laughable.”

The couple are due back in court on Wednesday to learn the outcome, but said they “feel trapped” waiting.

“We can’t get out, we can’t leave. So in one way or another, we feel trapped,” Mrs Byrne said.

Luke Myer, the couples’ former MP, told BBC Radio Tees: “I’m doing everything I can to raise Mary and Desmond’s case with the Foreign Office.

“Of course, it is a matter for the Thai legal system and we can’t interfere with that.

“I think raising the profile of the issue is really important to make sure they are treated fairly and ultimately they are able to come home.”

A Foreign Office spokesperson said they are supporting two British nationals in Thailand and are in touch with the local authorities.

“We are not pessimistic, we both know we’ve done nothing wrong,” said Mrs Byrne.

“But we have to prepare for whatever they’re going to do for us.”

Thitisan Utthanaphon, who was nicknamed Joe Ferrari for his many luxury cars, died by suicide, according to a preliminary autopsy.

In 2021, a leaked video showed Thitisan and his colleagues wrapping plastic bags around the head of a 24-year-old drug suspect during an interrogation, leading to the suspect’s death.

The video sparked national outrage at that time over police brutality in Thailand. It has made fresh rounds on social media in the wake of Thitisan’s death.

Thailand’s justice ministry has launched an investigation into his death after his family expressed doubts that he killed himself. Further tests were needed to confirm that he had indeed died in a suicide, authorities said.

Justice minister Tawee Sodsong said on Monday that all evidence related to Thitisan’s death should be disclosed, and urged prison authorities to cooperate with investigators.

The family said Thitisan was previously assaulted by a prison staffer. They said officials did not allow them to see his body, which was found in his cell on Friday.

But on Sunday authorities said “no prison officer or inmate has harmed or caused [his] death”.

A previous raid on Thitisan’s house revealed that he owned a dozen luxury sportscars. Authorities believe he owned at least 42, one of them a rare Lamborghini Aventador Anniversario, of which only 100 were made, priced in Thailand at 47 million baht ($1.45m; £1.05m).

As a police colonel, Thitisan was paid about $1,000 a month.

There were allegations that he demanded bribes from the suspect in the viral video, Jirapong Thanapat, while suffocating him. Thitisan denied this.

Thitisan surrendered in 2021 following a manhunt.

Besides Thitisan, five other police officers were convicted of murdering Jirapong and were also sentenced to life in prison in 2022.

“It’s like he has paid off the karma he committed,” Jirapong’s father said in an interview on local media on Saturday.

The Department of Corrections said they had been investigating a previous complaint filed by Thitisan’s family alleging that he had been bullied and assaulted by prison officers earlier this year.

Thitisan had consulted doctors over anxiety issues and trouble sleeping, the department said.

His family visited him on the day that he died and prison staff did not notice any “abnormalities”, it said.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court annulled a 50-year-old directive by the education ministry, which had previously set out rules on hairstyles for school students: short hair for boys and ear-length bobs for girls.

In practice, hairstyle rules have been gradually relaxed across many schools. But some still used the 1975 junta-issued directive as a guideline, and would cut the hair of students who didn’t adhere.

The 1975 directive violated individual freedoms protected by the constitution and was out of touch with today’s society, the court said.

The court decision this week came in response to a petition, filed by 23 public school students in 2020, which argued that the 1975 directive was unconstitutional.

Student activists have long campaigned for hairstyle rules to be relaxed, saying it infringes on their human dignity and personal freedom over their bodies.

One of them is Panthin Adulthananusak, who recently graduated from university.

“In the eyes of kids like us back then… even though it seemed impossible, we wanted to do something,” he told the BBC. “If no student in Thai history rose up to challenge the power of the adults that suppressed us, it would be a lifelong embarrassment.”

In response to such campaigns, the education ministry in 2020 allowed students to have longer hairstyles – but there remained some restrictions. Boys’ hair could not cover the nape of their necks, while girls with long hair had to tie it up.

Those regulations were revoked in 2023, with then education minister Trinuch Thienthong announcing that students, parents and school authorities should negotiate their own common ground on what is acceptable for hairstyles in their schools.

But through all these changes, some schools continued to follow the standard laid out in the original 1975 directive.

Schools have traditionally associated short hair with discipline and tidiness – an argument that has been repeated by many social media users this week. But in recent years reports of schools banning bangs or dyed hair have sparked public outcry across Thailand.

In some parts of the country, teachers are known to shoddily cut students’ hair during morning assembly to punish them for flouting hairstyle rules. Such practices have continued even as education authorities warned teachers against it.

In January, the Ministry of Education reiterated that it had repealed restrictions on hair length for all students, saying it recognised the “importance of promoting diversity and fairness in all aspects of education”.

Wednesday’s court decision, which also says that schools’ hairstyle rules should consider the freedom and dignity of students, reaffirms the official push to leave hair choices up to students themselves.

But Panthin said the revoking of the decades-old directive “still leaves a hole for schools to set their own rules”. In cases where schools have more conservative management, he suggested, restrictions could remain in place.

Nonetheless, Panthin said he “felt glad that what I had seen and fought all along was acknowledged and there was a tangible progress”.

“I hope this court’s ruling will set a new standard for the understanding about basic human rights at the school.”

The group is thought to have been flown back to China’s Xinjiang region on Thursday, after being held for 10 years in a Bangkok detention centre.

China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against the Uyghur population and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies all of the allegations.

It is the first time Thailand has deported Uyghurs since 2015.

The deportation has been shrouded in secrecy after serious concerns were raised by the United States and United Nations.

Thai media reported that several trucks, some with windows blocked with sheets of black plastic, left Bangkok’s main immigration detention centre in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Hours later, tracker Flightrader24 showed an unscheduled China Southern Airlines flight leaving Bangkok, eventually arriving in Xinjiang. It was not immediately clear how many people had been deported.

The Thai defence minister told Reuters news agency that Beijing had given assurances the deportees would be looked after.

Beijing said that 40 Chinese illegal immigrants were repatriated from Thailand, but refused to confirm that the group were Uyghurs.

“The repatriation was carried out in accordance with the laws of China and Thailand, international law and international practice,” the foreign ministry said.

Chinese state media said the group had been “bewitched” by criminal organisations and were stranded in Thailand after illegally leaving the country.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra did not initially confirm any deportations had taken place when asked by reporters.

“In any country in the world actions must adhere to the principles of law, international processes, and human rights,” she said.

The group is thought to be the last of more than 300 Uyghurs who were detained at the Thai border in 2014 after fleeing repression in Xinjiang.

Many were sent to Turkey, which usually offers Uyghurs asylum, while others were deported back to China in 2015 – prompting a storm of protest from governments and human rights groups.

“What is the Thai government doing?” asked opposition lawmaker Kannavee Suebsang on social media on Thursday.

“There must not be Uyghur deportation to face persecution. They were jailed for 11 years. We violated their human rights for too long.”

The detention centre where the Uyghurs – who had been charged with no crime, apart from entering Thailand without a visa – were kept was known to be unsanitary and overcrowded. Five Uyghurs died in custody.

In a statement on Thursday, Human Rights Watch said the group now face a high risk of torture, enforced disappearance and long-term imprisonment.

“Thailand’s transfer of Uyghur detainees to China constitutes a blatant violation of Thailand’s obligations under domestic and international laws,” said the organisation’s Asia director, Elaine Pearson.

“Until yesterday [Wednesday], senior Thai officials had made multiple public assurances that these men would not be transferred, including to allies and UN officials.”

Phil Robertson, director of the Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA) group, said that the deportations “totally destroyed” the “charade” that the current Thai government was different to the previous one “when it comes to transnational repression and cooperating with authoritarian neighbours”.

Amnesty International described the deportations as “unimaginably cruel”.

Bipartisan members of the US House China Committee on Wednesday issued a statement warning that the deportations “would constitute a clear violation of international human rights norms to which the Kingdom of Thailand is obligated under international law”.

The UN said that it “deeply regrets” the deportations.

There are about 12 million Uyghurs, mostly Muslim, living in Xinjiang, which is officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

The Uyghurs speak their own language, which is similar to Turkish, and see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations. They make up less than half of the Xinjiang population.

Recent decades have seen a mass migration of Han Chinese (China’s ethnic majority) into Xinjiang, allegedly orchestrated by the state to dilute the minority population there.

China has also been accused of targeting Muslim religious figures and banning religious practices in the region, as well as destroying mosques and tombs.

Rebecca Turner, 36, from Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, was found dead alongside her boyfriend after taking what they thought was cocaine, her family said.

Her sister, Lois Turner, and father Ron Turner, also from Bexhill, said they were told the Thai authorities concluded Rebecca had taken a combination of nine different drugs, including painkiller, sleeping pills and anxiety medication.

“I never thought she would take drugs at all,” said Mr Turner. “I just got a phone call one day to say she had passed away. I couldn’t believe it.”

Mr Turner told the BBC he still thinks Rebecca, known as Bec, will come through the door.Her death has “destroyed” the family, he said.

“It will take a long time. We’ll never forget. Every time we see a picture of her, it brings back memories.

“Things have been tough.”

Ms Turner died in March last year after attending a friend’s wedding in Thailand, where she used to live.

Lois Turner urged young people travelling to Thailand to avoid taking drugs because the consequences could be fatal.

“It is important for people to know that taking drugs, just a one-off, you are potentially risking your whole life and destroying families,” she said.

“You really have to think – is it worth it?”An inquest into Ms Turner’s death has been opened.

A date for the hearing has not yet been set by East Sussex County Council’s Coroner’s Office.

Blanca Ojanguren García, 22, was washing the elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre last Friday when she was gored to death by the animal.

Experts told Spanish language newspaper Clarín that the elephant could have been stressed by having to interact with tourists outside its natural habitat.

García, who was a law and international relations student at Spain’s University of Navarra, was living in Taiwan as part of a student exchange programme.

She was visiting Thailand with her boyfriend, who witnessed the attack.

Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said the Spanish consulate in Bangkok was assisting García’s family.

BBC News has reached out to the elephant care centre for comment.

Bathing elephants is a popular activity among tourists in Thailand, which is home to more than 4,000 wild animals and has a similar number kept in captivity, according to the Department of National Parks.

The Koh Yao centre offers “elephant care” packages which let tourists make food for and feed the animals, as well as shower and walk with them. These packages cost between 1,900 baht ($55; £44) and 2,900 baht.

Animal activists have previously criticised elephant bathing activities, noting that they disrupt natural grooming behaviours and expose the animals to unnecessary stress and potential injury.

World Animal Protection, an international charity, has for years urged countries including Thailand to stop breeding elephants in captivity.

More than six in 10 elephants used for tourism in Asia are living in “severely inadequate” conditions, the charity said.

“These intelligent and socially intricate animals, with a capacity for complex thoughts and emotions, endure profound suffering in captivity, as their natural social structures cannot be replicated artificially,” the charity said.

Andy Davis, 33, from Stone, Staffordshire, had his left leg amputated and was hospitalised with a shattered pelvis and torn bladder, following a car crash on an island off Krabi last month.

His friend Mike Pugh, set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money towards bringing Mr Davis back to the UK.

He is now being cared for at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and is “very happy to be home”, however he continues to fight an infection and is waiting for further surgery on his pelvis and bladder.

Nearly 500 people donated to the fundraiser which ultimately led to Mr Davis being able to fly home earlier than expected.

Mr Pugh said the donations contributed towards the £28,000 medical repatriation costs, with Mr Davis’ family paying the remaining amount.

He said his friend’s prompt return to the UK “essentially has saved his life as he could have started to deteriorate if he was still out in Thailand”.

Mr Davis started teaching English as a foreign language in 2016, travelling to Thailand, Peru, Mexico and Ecuador.

Most recently, he had been working to set up teaching positions for other Brits to travel and teach English as a foreign language.

Mr Pugh, who visited his friend at Royal Stoke on Saturday, said the 33-year-old was “significantly better” and feeling “much more positive”, since returning home.

Mr Davis is still fighting an infection which is delaying further treatment, but he has been able to start physiotherapy.

Mr Pugh said: “He was over the moon, because he had been able to sit up in bed and turn to put his other foot on the ground.”

Mr Pugh added that it was likely his friend would remain in hospital over Christmas while he awaited further surgery.

Thai police said an improvised explosive device had been thrown into a crowd on a dance floor at a crowded festival in Umphang district in Thailand’s northern Tak province just before midnight on Friday.

The explosion killed two people instantly, with another dying later in hospital and 48 left injured among the approximately 8,000-9,000 attending the event.

Police said a Thai youth and a man belonging to the Karen National Union (KNU), a rebel group fighting for autonomy in neighbouring Myanmar’s Karen state, had been arrested.

Tak police chief Major-General Samrit Ekamol said the Myanmar suspect had thrown the bomb after encountering a “rival gangster” he had previously fought with.

But a senior KNU official contacted by the AFP news agency, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media, denied any involvement and said the group did not have any members in the area.

 Thanathip Sawangsang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, told The Associated Press that local police had reported a fight between rival groups of men before the explosion and that there was no wider security threat.

He said the forensic evidence showed the explosive device was a homemade bomb.Tak province has a heavy military presence in its border areas, including in Umphang.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed her condolences to the victims’ families and urged security agencies to carry out an investigation.

More than 122,000 people have been forced out of their homes in northern Malaysia, while in southern Thailand, around 13,000 others have also been displaced.

There are fears the number could rise, as heavy rain and storm warnings remain in place.

Emergency services personnel have been deployed to help rescue stranded residents and shelters are being provided.

The flooding, which began earlier in the week, has seen thousands of residents evacuated in both nations.

Videos on social media and local news show cars and houses submerged, and people wading through waist-deep water.

One video, filmed in Thailand’s Sateng Nok district, showed rescuers carrying a baby out from a roof of a flooded home.

Flooding has impacted nearly 534,000 households in southern Thailand, disaster officials said, and two hospitals had to close to prevent floodwaters from damaging medical facilities.

Six provinces have declared a disaster due to the floods.

The government has designated 50 million baht ($1.7m; £1.3m) in flood relief for each province, with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra saying the goal is to “restore normalcy as quickly as possible”.

In Malaysia, the flooding is mostly concentrated on the north-eastern state of Kelantan, which borders Thailand.

There, the National Disaster Management Agency says the evacuees account for 63% of the total number.

One resident in the town of Pasir Puteh in Kelantan said her area had been flooded since Wednesday.

“The water has already reached my house corridor and is just two inches away from coming inside,” Zamrah Majid told AFP news agency.

Another resident of the same town said he and his family have been isolated by the floods.

“There’s no way in or out of for any vehicles to enter my neighbourhood,” Muhammad Zulkarnain told AFP.

Another eight states in Malaysia have also been affected.

So far, the number of those displaced surpasses that of 2014, which saw one of the worst floods in the country.

Provisions for disaster management have been sent to Terengganu and Kelantan State Governments, according to the prime minister’s office.

On Friday, he barred his cabinet members from going on leave so they can focus on the disaster.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department warned that heavy rains will continue until Sunday in some states, while its Thai counterpart warned that “very heavy rain” could continue through next week.

Both countries experience monsoon rains around this time of the year, and flooding isn’t uncommon.

In 2021, Malaysia faced some of its worse flooding in decades, which killed at least 14 people.

Ten years earlier, in 2011, widespread flooding across Thailand killed at least 500 people and damaged millions of homes.