Death toll in Thai boat tragedy rises to 42

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01:10

Updated at 9:05 p.m. BJT

At least 42 people were confirmed dead and 14 others remain missing after two boats capsized in a storm off southern Thailand's Phuket island, Thai officials said on Saturday.

Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong told Xinhua News Agency that the Thai authorities found five bodies in the "Phoenix" tourist boat which sunk some 30 to 40 meters Saturday morning, and they, along with two Chinese rescue teams, found another three in the boat Saturday afternoon.

The rescue process has been improved since Chinese team has joined the rescue operation, said the governor.

A joint rescue operation was conducted successfully between Thai divers and the 17 professional divers from Chinese rescue teams on Saturday afternoon, according to the Royal Thai Navy.

Updated at 16:19 p.m. BJT

Another five bodies were found after two boats overturned in waters off the coast of Thailand's Phuket on Thursday, said a Thai officer on Saturday. The death toll is now 38, with 18 still missing.

Two Chinese rescue teams have arrived in Phuket and will join the search for the missing tourists, according to Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Lyu Jian.

China is willing to offer any help for the search and the Chinese teams will work closely with Thai rescue authorities, Lyu said during a press conference on Saturday.

A Chinese government joint working group also arrived in Phuket on Friday night and held the first joint meeting with the Thai side on the day.

Updated at 12:04 p.m. BJT

Thai rescuers pulled 37 bodies from waters off the coast of Phuket on Friday, after a tourist boat went down in heavy seas with dozens of Chinese passengers on board.

Many of the dead were found several kilometers from where the Phoenix sank after being hit by five-meter high waves in a storm on Thursday evening.

"The death toll today is 37, with 18 still unaccounted for," said a Thai navy official late Friday, requesting anonymity.

Rescue workers carry the body of a victim on a stretcher, after a boat capsized off the tourist island of Phuket, Thailand, July 6, 2018. /VCG Photo

The three-decker boat was carrying 105 passengers, mostly Chinese tourists, when it sank.

Some 48 people – passengers and crew – were rescued on Thursday before the operation was suspended overnight. Two more were rescued on Friday morning.

A second boat carrying 42 passengers, also mainly Chinese nationals, capsized on Thursday evening, but all people on board were rescued.

On Friday, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand confirmed that 16 Chinese tourists had been killed, 78 had been rescued and 33 were still missing from the two boat accidents, Xinhua news agency reported.

But this was before the latest death toll was announced.

The bodies were taken to hospital for identification, while helicopters continued to scan the water Friday afternoon in what appeared to be an increasingly forlorn hunt for survivors.

"I'm not really sure how many will survive," Phuket Governor Noraphat Plodthong told reporters.

A rescued tourist is helped by rescue workers after a boat he was travelling in capsized off the tourist island of Phuket, Thailand, July 6, 2018. /VCG Photo

The Phoenix looks set to be one of the worst boat disasters in recent Thai history.

The boat sank 40 meters below the surface of the Andaman Sea, a few kilometers off the coast of Koh He, an islet popular with day-trippers from Phuket.

"The skies were clear when we went out, we had no idea the weather could change so fast," one passenger, 28-year-old Wu Jun, told AFP news agency.

The Phoenix was among several boats that appeared to have ignored a warning in place since Wednesday not to take tourists on day-trips to the islands off Phuket.

Other vessels hit trouble late Thursday, but all of their passengers were rescued.

Thai junta number two Prawit Wongsuwon ordered an investigation into why "the boat went to sea" despite a weather warning, while Thai police said they would seek to charge the captain and owner with negligence.

A Chinese consular official arrived Friday at the operations center in Phuket to monitor the rescue effort, while Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said a task force was on its way to Thailand.

Phuket draws hordes of overseas visitors including Western sun-seekers and huge numbers of Chinese tourists who make up nearly a third of the 35 million people expected to visit Thailand this year.

3988km

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency