An Iranian tourist was found dead after he capsized while white-water rafting in Thailand.

Behzadifar Javad Gholamabbas, 42, booked an adventure sports tour on the Khlong Song Phraek mountain rapids in Phang Nga province, on March 29 when he disappeared.

The foreigner, along with four friends and two boatmen, set off in the afternoon when the weather was still fine but a sudden gush of water flowed into the stream while they were trying to reach the endpoint. Their raft hit a large rock and capsized.

He was swept away by the deluge while his friends were rescued by locals. After a day of search and rescue, the Iranian man's body was found some two miles away from the crash site today March 30.

Phang Nga Sheriff Captain Pongsak Wetyawong said: 'We integrated with all sectors to assist in the search so he was found despite the dangerous conditions. Police and some concerned villagers helped us.'

Tour operator manager Dumrong Tongto, 38, said that before the incident, the tourist and his friends enjoyed an ATV and elephant ride during the sunny weather so they were shocked when the river suddenly swelled.

He said: 'We allowed the tourists into the stream when the water looked normal but suddenly torrents from uphill started pouring down. A crew was sent to rescue the four tourists and two boatmen who have been swept by the current.

'We managed to rescue everybody but another tourist was stuck on a rubber boat under the bridge. Before we could reach him the water pushed his boat 50 meters away from the scene. He fell from the boat and disappeared in the water.'

A villager who lived nearby Rattanaporn Pasomsap, 37, said: 'Five foreign tourists took a rubber boat for rafting. Their boat overturned when they reached the bridge pillar. Everybody was rescued except for one tourist on the boat.

'The crew took about 30 minutes to pull the boat out but the man fell into the water. The water flow was not like that in the morning.'

Phang Nga Security Office had sent a diving team to search for the Iranian man's body amidst the strong currents and found him in under 24 hours.

To avoid similar incidents in the future, Captain Pongsak said they have instructed local authorities to check the condition of the river everyday if it safe for such activities.

He said: 'Local authorities would check the water conditions every day, if there is a tendency to be dangerous, rafting activity will be stopped immediately.'

The foreigner's body was taken to the hospital for an autopsy while the Iranian Embassy in Thailand was informed of the incident.