Hundreds of Malaysian tourists were stranded at the Thai-Malaysian border checkpoint in Sadao district, Songkhla province on Saturday night, after Malaysian immigration officials closed the checkpoint at 11pm.
The closure of the checkpoint left about 200 cars and buses, heading back to Malaysia, stranded on the Thai side of the border.
A Thai PBS reporter in Sadao district says that all the stranded vehicles and their passengers had already been processed by Thai immigration officials, but they could not proceed to Malaysia because the gate was locked at 11pm sharp, which is the normal closing time.
The reporter said that about 25,000 Malaysian tourists travelled to Songkhla province during the long holidays, which coincided with the Malaysian national day or Hari Merdeka, on August 31st, giving a boost to tourism business in Hat Yai. Many of the tourists returned home on Saturday.
