Police were still searching today for an American woman who went missing during a jet ski ride in Thailand.

Rescue teams scoured the waters off Patong Beach in Phuket to search for Nina Ng, 37, who mysteriously disappeared last week.

Nina, a nurse from New York, had the machine on February 27 morning, but was reported missing after she failed to return the rented watercraft. The jet ski, her belongings, and life vest were found around half a mile from the shore.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Suchart Chumphusang, deputy superintendent of the Patong Police Station, said: 'The search is still ongoing. It will not be cancelled until the body is found.

‘We will continue until we find her to finally confirm her status.

'Although expert rescuers say the chances of finding her alive are slim, we cannot make any conclusions just yet. It's possible she was rescued by a passing boat.

'She was scheduled to check out of her hotel today. We have collected her belongings and handed them over to the station.

‘We have notified her relatives that we will not stop until we find her. We also co-ordinated with all boat operators and lifeguards on the beach to find more clues.'

The local rescue team ended search efforts on March 1, but beach lifeguards were still trying to locate the missing tourist.

A rescue volunteer said: 'We can only hope and wait to see if a body surfaces.'

Nina works for the American non-profit Help Me Live USA, an organisation providing medical and humanitarian services to people in Gaza, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Beach drownings are a recurring safety concern in Thailand, especially in tourist hotspots like Phuket, Pattaya, and Krabi. The deaths often attributed to strong rip currents, lack of swimming skills, and disregard for warning signages.

The waters are most dangerous during the country's rainy monsoon season, when red flags are placed in beaches to warn of dangerous sea conditions.