A Thai Navy corvette sank during a storm on Monday night. So far, only 75 of the 106 sailors on board have been rescued.
The Thai Navy released a photo showing the HTMS Sukhothai listing about 60 degrees just before sinking.
The Thai Navy is searching for 31 sailors missing off the coast of Thailand. A warship with over a hundred crew members capsized and sank there during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand.
By Monday noon (local time), 75 of the 106 crew on board the corvette HTMS Sukhothai had been rescued, the Thai Navy said in a tweet. The BBC’s Navy spokesman said the chances of finding any survivors among the missing are slim. “It’s been more than twelve hours, but we will continue to search for them.”
Tidal waves caused a power outage
The HTMS Sukhothai sank after strong tidal waves first inundated the hull on Sunday evening. Water then entered the engine room through an exhaust pipe, flooding the power controls and shorting out the ship’s electrical system. The crew lost control and maneuverability of the ship due to the power failure, a navy spokesman said on Monday. The Sukhothai listed up to 60 degrees and then sank over the bow at around 11:30 p.m. local time.
The ship was on patrol just 32 kilometers (20 miles) west of Bang Saphan in Prachuap Khiri Khan province when it was caught in the storm on Sunday. After the ship sent an emergency call, the Navy sent three more warships and several helicopters to the scene of the accident. However, only the frigate HTMS Kraburi reached the scene of the accident before the Sukhothai sank. The frigate was able to board the majority of the sailors directly from the Sukhothai, while other sailors with life jackets were found in lifeboats in the water, the navy said.
Investigations into the cause are ongoing
The naval high command in the capital Bangkok announced on Monday an investigation into the cause of the disaster. “It is almost unprecedented in the history of the Thai Armed Forces for a ship in active service to simply sink,” Thai Navy Admiral Pogkrong Monthardpalin told the BBC. Everything is being done to find the missing persons and to clarify the exact causes. The Navy has set up an aid center on site and is trying to coordinate the rescue operation.
The HTMS Shukothai was built in the USA in the mid-1980s and has been part of the active fleet of the Thai Navy since 1987. The almost 80 meter long corvette has been in service for the last 36 years mainly as a coastal patrol ship for the Thai Navy and has been equipped, among other things, for air defense and anti-submarine warfare.