It's reported that one man has died and dozens of Chinese tourists are missing after a boat capsized in rough seas off the popular island resort of Phuket in Thailand.

It's said the boat was carrying 97 passengers when it began to keel over after it was hit by massive waves said to be as high as five meters.

Officials say 48 people, all from a group of Chinese tourists, have been rescued so far, but the rest of the passengers and crew have been unaccounted for.

The body of the deceased victim was recovered late Thursday.

The rescue will resume this morning.

In a separate incident in the same area at around the same time, another boat carrying 39 Chinese and European tourists also capsized.

The Chinese General Consulate in Songkla is closely following the devlopment in the rescue operation.