Four French tourists missing overnight were found safe on an island in Thailand.

The four Frenchmen - identified in local reports as Adrien Simon, 38, Mehdi Benchoula, 47, Vincent Ferrer, 30, and Stefan Stauat, 32 - departed from Jomtien Beach in Pattaya to go diving off Koh Mun Wichai island on May 1.

They anchored their boat and plunged into the sea to catch fish. However, when they resurfaced, they found that the vessel had drifted away.

A search and rescue operation was launched on May 2 after a local named Supoj Chomdokmai found the one-engine speedboat Vazimolo floating some 11 nautical miles near Koh Si Chang island with no one onboard.

Authorities later found the French tourists stranded on the island of Koh Mun Wichai safe but exhausted and hungry.

The men were transported to the Bang Saray Pier at 12:10 pm.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Piyapong Ensarn of the Pattaya Tourist Police questioned the tourists, who claimed they had anchored their boat before diving off Koh Mun Wichai island.

One of the rescued men, Adrien, said: 'The boat somehow became unanchored and floated away. We couldn't find it when we resurfaced, so we spent a night on Mun Wichai island until the rescuers arrived.'

The group thanked the rescuers for saving them.

Pattaya emerged as a nightlife destination in the 1960s catering to GIs when Thailand fought alongside the United States in the Vietnam War.