Rescue teams are today searching for an American tourist who fell overboard from a yacht off the coast of Thailand.

Dane Endler Johnson, 28, from Florida, plunged from the side of the luxury vessel around a nautical mile off Yamu Cape on holiday island Phuket on Sunday morning.

The tourist had reportedly rented the Malaysian-registered pleasure craft called 'de Mareft' with his family from June 5 to 11, but was said to have vanished on June 8.

Crew knocked on his room but found it empty as they were calling him for breakfast. A Navy patrol vessel was dispatched shortly after to look for Dane, who was initially reported as being British but police today confirmed he is American,

Police Captain Thitiwat Asasing of the Thalang District Police Station said: ‘The footage from the security camera captured him jumping into the sea to swim. However, there was one instance when he jumped in and disappeared.

‘We do not know whether the yacht belongs to the family, but the only passengers were the victim's family. He is yet to be found. The Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre, boat crew, and local residents are searching for him.

‘According to information from the captain, we learned that he drank an alcoholic beverage before jumping into the water. We have not yet questioned the witnesses, but we plan to do so later.'

Crew reportedly found empty alcohol bottles in Dane's room.

CCTV footage on Sunday allegedly showed him climbing out of an open window and sitting on a rubber boat at the rear of the yacht, which was anchored around a mile off Yamu Beach.

He was said to have leapt into the sea but was unable to swim his way back.

Captain Siriwit Nunloy of the Thai Navy said: ‘For missing cases at sea, if the victim wears a life vest, there is a high chance of being found. However, without one, there is a very low chance of survival.

‘In this case, he might not have worn a life vest because he would have floated if he had.

'Today, the search team is operating in the area where the water current might have carried him, using a map based on the reported coordinates.

‘We cannot predict where he might be found because it entirely depends on the water current and wind. If he sank, it would mainly depend on the water current but if he wore a life vest, it would mainly depend on the wind.

‘In this case, the victim disappeared, so he might not have worn a life vest and may have already drowned.

‘After a while, he might resurface, and the wind could blow him westward. It might take two to three days to know whether he is alive or dead.'