A pleasure boat that sank in Thailand killing dozens of Chinese holidaymakers has been raised from the seabed. Investigators will now examine the wreck of the Phoenix to try to find out what caused one of the country's worst maritime tragedies. From the holiday island of Phuket, CGTN's Martin Lowe has more.

Not from the ashes but from the deep, the pleasure boat Phoenix rises from the sea. Four months after it sank in a storm in a tragedy which saw the deaths of 47 Chinese tourists and one Thai diver, the ravaged hull of the boat broke the surface. A recovery ship with a heavy-lifting crane was brought from Singapore to raise the wreck from the seabed - after earlier attempts to refloat the vessel using tanks and air-filled balloons failed. More than 100 people had been on board when the boat capsized during a day-trip in July, almost half of them perished. All were holidaymakers from China. Storms had been forecast before the boat put to sea.

MARTIN LOWE PHUKET "Raising the Phoenix has always seen as essential to a police investigation into whether the boat's operators were at fault. There are questions about the competence of the crew, the vessel's seaworthiness and the effectiveness of life-saving equipment."

The boat's owner, skipper and engineer have all been charged with recklessness causing death.

MAJ. GEN. SURACHATE HAKPARN HEAD OF THAI IMMIGRATION BUREAU "We feel great sympathy after what happened. We will examine the boat with transparency to reassure the victims' relatives. We will prosecute anyone found to have done wrong."

During the salvage operation, the Thai diver who first found the wreck - Nipat Kladnack - died after he fell and struck his head. He became the 48th victim of the tragedy. Anger over the loss of life - and concern about safety - led to thousands of Chinese people cancelling holidays to Thailand. The Thai government carried out inspections - and found half of the 400 tourist boats in Phuket didn't meet safety standards. Officials are promising tougher regulations - but much will need to be done to win back tourists' confidence. Martin Lowe, CGTN, Phuket.