Coastguards are searching for a missing Russian man who was posing for selfies on rocks when he was hit by a wave and swept away.

The holidaymaker Iurii Smoian, 32, and three other male Russian friends visited Promthep Cape on the tourist island of Phuket this morning to enjoy their trip on the popular Thai island.

Three of them clambered onto rocks near the shore to take their pictures when a large wave struck the group and submerged them. Three of them managed to swim to the shore but their friend was dragged away by the currents.

Footage taken by rescue teams who arrived on the scene shows how one the group struggled back to dry land.

The rescue team said the waves were 'too strong' for them to risk attempting a rescue for the other man so they waited for lifeguards with jet skis and boats to arrive.

Local mayor Arun Soros in the Rawai district of the town said he received a report about the incident at 9:30 AM. He ordered rescue teams, tourist police, marine police, and divers to scour the seas for the missing backpacker, while the tourists also lent their commerical drones to aid the search.

Arun said: 'The Rawai municipality government has issued an alert for the Rawai Beach area warning tourists to be careful of the strong waves.

'In this case, the tourists were sitting on the rocks when the incident happened. They were just enjoying themselves and taking pictures when it happened.'

The local mayor added that the Russian visitors could not yet be interviewed as they were distressed and unable to speak fluent English.

Authorities said they were calling a Russian translator while waiting for the tourists to collect themselves.

An operation centre for the search will be set up at Yanui Beach near Promthep Cape to facilitate search efforts, Arun said.