6 dead, 23 still missing from sunken Thai warship: ‘there weren’t enough life jackets’
- More than 70 sailors have been rescued since HTMS Sukhothai sank off the coast late on Sunday, including a 23-year-old on Tuesday
- Officials said there were not enough life vests as guests were on board. ‘My son called me … he said he did not get a life jacket’, said a parent
Six bodies have been found and one survivor was rescued on Tuesday, after the sinking of a naval vessel two days ago in the Gulf of Thailand, the Thai navy said.
Officials acknowledged there were not enough life jackets for all those aboard the corvette – a type of small warship – which has been in service for 35 years. The navy said an earlier tally of 106 people on the vessel was incorrect because one sailor failed to join the journey.
The most recent survivor, identified as Chananyu Kansriya, 23, was found floating in the sea at about 2pm on Tuesday and was picked up by a passing cargo ship, according to the navy’s rescue coordination centre in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, near the scene of the accident. A navy frigate was bringing him back to shore.
Vice Admiral Pichai Lorchusakul said Chananyu was in a weak condition and would receive medical treatment on the frigate, which has facilities akin to a mobile hospital.
The officer was quoted by the Thai Rath newspaper as saying search efforts had been accelerated, but the missing could not be expected to survive in the sea for longer than two days.
The navy deployed four large ships, two maritime patrol aircraft, two helicopters and a drone, and the air force contributed one plane and one helicopter. Small boats could not be used because the sea remained extremely choppy, officers said.