BANGKOK - Two tourists were killed and more than 20 others injured when two speedboats collided in the Thai resort island of Phuket on Monday (Feb 10) morning, police said.

One of the speedboats carrying tourists, most of whom were Russian nationals, was leaving a pier near Royal Phuket Marina when it accidentally collided with the other boat with no passengers aboard, Xinhua reported.

Two young passengers, both Russian boys aged six and 12, were pronounced dead at a hospital, the police said.

Twenty-three tourists were rescued and hospitalised with injuries, Thailand's The Nation news website reported.

The two boats were identified as Payan 5, registered under SeaStar Andaman, and Payan 9, registered under Andaman Leisure Phuket.

Payan 5 was travelling from Nga Peninsula in Ratsada subdistrict to pick up tourists at the pier when it collided with Payan 9, which was full of tourists, police said.

Police said there had been 39 people on the two boats, The Phuket News website reported.

The four crewmen on the two boats were not injured, police said.

Police Colonel Prasert Srikhunrat said an investigation into the collision was ongoing, The Phuket News reported.

"At this time, the investigation into the collision is still ongoing. Officers will inspect the scene of the accident before travelling to see the injured persons at the hospitals next," Col Prasert, chief of Marine Police Region 8, said.

A deadly boat accident in July 2018 killed 47 Chinese tourists, making it one of the country's worst maritime accidents.

The boat, The Phoenix, was carrying 101 passengers - mostly Chinese tourists - when it went down in bad weather on the way back from taking tourists to a popular snorkelling spot.