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Dozens of missing Chinese tourists assumed trapped in sunken boat off Thai
coast
PHUKET, Thailand, July 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Dozens of missing Chinese
tourists are believed to be trapped in a sunken boat off the coast of the
Thai holiday island of Phuket, an official said Friday, as divers were sent
to explore the vessel.
Fifty-six passengers remain unaccounted for after the Phoenix went down on
Thursday afternoon, after being battered by five metre (15-feet) high storm
waves.
“I assume they are trapped inside the boat… but I wish some of them have
survived,” Phuket governor Noraphat Plodthong told reporters.
“I have not yet received any reports of people floating in the sea,” he
said, adding a flicker of hope was that the boat went down so fast an air
pocket may have been created.
The boat, which had left the popular snorkelling spot of Koh Racha to
return to Phuket, was carrying 105 passengers, the majority Chinese tourists.
The body of one of the passengers, believed to be a Chinese holidaymaker,
was pulled from the sea late Thursday and brought to shore, shortly before
the search was called off for the night.
Helicopters, police and fishing boats were deployed early Friday as the
rescue mission restarted.
The Thai navy said the Phoenix had sunk 40 metres below the surface, a few
kilometres off the cost of a Koh He, an islet known for its coral formations.
“Navy divers, frogmen and marine police divers have already been sent to
the scene,” Rear Admiral Charoenphon Khumrasee, deputy commander for Thai
Navy in the southern region told reporters.
“Helicopters will search for those who may have floated out.”
Thailand is already in the global spotlight for a dramatic rescue mission
in the north of the country, after 12 boys and their football coach were
trapped in a cave complex.
Stunned survivors of the boat accident huddled in blankets on a Phuket pier
late Thursday.
Some cried while others appeared dazed as they walked around still wearing
their life vests.
“Eleven are injured, of these two are in serious condition,” the governor
added.
The Phoenix was among several boats that appeared to have ignored a severe
weather warning in place since Wednesday to take tourists on day-trips to the
islands that dot the seas off Phuket.
A Chinese consular official arrived at the operations centre in Phuket to
monitor the rescue effort.
Several other vessels hit trouble late Thursday. Initial reports from
officials said all of the passengers on those boats were rescued.
But as details dripped through overnight, governor Noraphat said two
passengers were still unaccounted for from another stricken ship.
Phuket is a magnet for overseas visitors including Western sun-seekers and
huge numbers of Chinese tourists who make up the bulk of the 35 million
people expected to visit the kingdom this year.
Thailand has a poor health and safety record and accidents are common on
its roads and busy waterways — especially in tourist areas during the
monsoon season which is now biting.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0950 hrs