Thirty-one Thai navy personnel went missing after their ship sank off the country’s southeastern coast, the authorities announced.
The Navy ship “Sukhothai” was patrolling in the Gulf of Thailand, 37 km from Pang Sapan pier in Prachuap Khiri Khan (south), when it encountered strong waves and water leaked into it on Sunday night.
Authorities launched a rescue operation after the ship’s electronic systems were damaged, and photos released by the Navy showed the ship leaning on its side.
“We are still searching for 31 missing persons,” said navy spokesman Admiral Bogkrung Motradbalen, adding that the ship sank shortly after midnight on Monday.
He explained that “the ship’s operating systems stopped working, causing it to lose control.”
A statement said that 75 of the 106 personnel on board the ship were pulled out of the water in a rescue operation involving two Seahawk helicopters, two frigates and an amphibious ship.
And receiving 11 members of the Navy for treatment in a hospital in Bang Saban, while transferring about 40 others to shelters.
The search and rescue operation is still going on.
Many areas of southern Thailand have seen storms and floods in the past few days.
