A Canadian tourist was injured when he fell onto a speedboat propeller in Thailand.

The male backpacker, 48, who was not named by officials, had rented a boat to ride to the Thale Waek area of the Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province on December 26 afternoon.

He stopped the boat out at sea to take a dip off the coast. However, while he was standing on the stern to marvel at the ocean view, a wave struck, causing him to slip and cut himself on the propeller blades of the watercraft.

Rescue volunteers said they received a report about the injured tourist at 4:30 pm. They arrived on a boat and took the man back to shore.

They said the tourist had a 3cm-long cut on his left chest, but he was not seriously injured. He was taken to the Krabi Hospital for treatment.

Rescuers said the Canadian man was lucky the blade had missed his vital organs and that the boat's engine was turned off at the time.