A man, who is possibly a friend of the victims, is currently being searched by police. They said the friend may already however have already left the island on Monday morning.
According to the BBC, the police are also currently questioning tourists, and hotel and bar owners with regard to the discovered bodies of the British tourists murdered in Thailand.
Multiple reports say both the victims suffered serious injuries. Their clothes were found nearby, as well as a bloodied garden hoe, which was believed to have been used as the murder weapon in the attack, said police chief Col. Prachum Ruangthong.
According to The Independent, the woman was found with her throat cut open, while the man also had a cutting wound, but on the back of his head.
Ruangthong said told the Associated Press, "The man was chopped in the back and on the side of his head, while the woman was chopped in her face. It's very gruesome."
According to police, they have yet to identify a motive or suspect in the killing of the British tourists murdered in Thailand, who arrived in the country the previous month. They have been staying separately in the same resort of beachside huts, and had gone out Sunday evening to go to a bar with other tourists.
Police have been reviewing CCTV cameras at nearby restaurants, hotels and shops trying to search attackers.
Questions to locals who found the bodies revealed that there had been a beach party Sunday evening, the night of the attack. The party was located just a few hundred metres from where the bodies of the British tourists murdered in Thailand were found on Sai Ree beach.
According to investigators, they are also looking into witnesses who might have been aware of the pair's whereabouts during the late-night beach party which attracted tourists.
The BBC reports that it had been suggested in previous reports that the two British tourists murdered in Thailand had met on the island only recently.
The UK Foreign Office said in a statement, "We are aware of the death of two British nationals on 15 September on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand."
"The embassy are urgently seeking information from the local authorities and consular staff stand ready to provide assistance to friends and family at this tragic time," they added.
According to the BBC, a spokeswoman for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in London said that the incident of two British tourists murdered in Thailand was "out of character" for an island with "much loved for its quaint atmosphere".
She said, "We understand this is an isolated incident."
"We have limited details on the circumstances at this time and are waiting for further information following the initial stages of the police investigation. Our thoughts and condolences are with the families and friends affected by the news," she added.
The AP reports that local residents, which amount to about 2,000 people, were outraged by the incident. The island reportedly survives on tourism, hence locals blockaded their piers to assist police in catching the killers and prevent their escape. After a few hours, the blockades were lifted, making many believe that the attacker or attackers have fled or already.
According to The Independent, the incident of two British tourists murdered in Thailand is a new challenge for the country's government after it seized power in a coup early in the year.
Jonathan Head, BBC's south-east Asia correspondent, said that authorities would most likely move quickly to investigate in order to maintain confidence for Thailand's tourist industry which reportedly takes up about a tenth of the country's total GDP. The industry has been under strain after a military coup which was supposed to have ended May has been prolonged.
The country's tourism industry reportedly attracts around 27m tourist and is worth up to £21bn. According to the AP, martial law is still in effect in the country. The BBC adds that Thailand attracts more than 850,000 British and Irish tourists each year.
Even before this incident of the two British tourists murdered in Thailand, according to the Foreign Office, since 2009, 11 British nationals have been murdered in total.
The Official FCO advice reportedly warns that some western tourists have been victims of "vicious, unprovoked attacks by gangs" on the island of Koh Phangan. Meanwhile, reports say TAT said Koh Tao and other beach destinations in Thailand remains safe for tourists.
Two British tourists murdered in Thailand will however probably bring down the number of tourists in the country. Add to that the continuing months of political turmoil and the coup, which officials say have affected the number of visitors by up to 10 per cent compared to last year, is going to be a challenge for the country.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
