A South Korean professional jet ski racer was killed during a tournament in Thailand.

Sung Won Kim, 40, plunged into the water on the first bend during a long-distance endurance race at the Water Jet World Grand Prix 2022 in Pattaya on Saturday December 17.

Officials said there was no contact with other vehicles but Sung hit the water with 'considerable force'. Rescue teams pulled him ashore and performed CPR before he was transferred to the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital.

Medics pronounced Sung dead shortly after arrival and a post-mortem examination will now be performed to find the cause of death.

Fellow competitors paid tribute to the athlete, from Seoul, who competed for the Freedom Racing team. His Kawasaki 300 jet ski was propped up on the beach and a small tribute was laid, with incense burned and prayers said.

Sung's brother Jo Haw Kyu, 45, was also invited to complete the race on behalf of his late relative as a tribute. The 39 other competitors also paid tribute to the Korean.

Tournament director Parikhet Suebsahakarn said the event has been held annually for 27 years and 'the marshall team have a lot of experience'. He said the racer was pulled from the water quickly.

Parikhet added: 'There are Thai, American, German, and other nationalities on the safety team. They respond very quickly to help racers who have had an accident.

'It is hard to see exactly what happened and what caused Sung to fall into the water but it was definitely not a collision or another boat crashing into the dead.

'I have spoken to the medical team and given that there was very little water in the racer's lungs, they have begun to look at the physical condition of the racer or the possibility he suffered a stroke during the race.'