ZCZC
BFF-33
THAILAND-BOAT-ACCIDENT
Three more passenger bodies found in Phuket boat accident in Thailand
PHUKET, July 10, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – A local official said on Tuesday that
search and rescue teams had found three more passenger bodies who were very
likely to be the victims killed in a capsizal accident of a tourist boat off
the coast of Thai island of Phuket last Thursday.
Phuket Provincial Governor Norraphat Plodthong told a press conference at
the command center for the search and rescue mission that so far Thai and
Chinese officials have confirmed that among the original 10 missing, five
passengers are actually safe, and three of them have gone back to China.
According to the governor, if the newly found three bodies are confirmed
to be passengers of the boat “Phoenix”, then the accident has left 45 dead
and two passengers missing so far. Fourty-two of the dead have been confirmed
to be Chinese.
Vice Admiral Somnuk Preampramot, commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third
Area Command, said the navy will not give up search for the missing, but the
salvage attempt for the sunken wreckage of the boat “Phoenix” has been
postponed on Tuesday due to strong wind and rough seas.
BSS/XINHUA/GMR/1054 hrs