A Thai Navy corvette sank during a storm on Monday night. So far, only 77 of the 106 sailors on board have been rescued.
The Thai Navy published a photo showing the HTMS “Sukhothai” with a list of about 60 degrees shortly before sinking.
At least six people have died in a Thai Navy shipwreck. On Tuesday, a crew member from the sunken ship was rescued from the water and six others were found dead, Thai media reported, citing the Navy. 23 people were still missing, it was said, and they were still being searched for. Investigations into the incident have so far shown that there were not enough life jackets for all 106 crew members on board.
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 flooded 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” suffered a list of 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, the Navy said. However, pictures from the scene of the accident showed that only the frigate HTMS “Kraburi” had arrived in time before the “Sukhothai” sank. The frigate was able to take the majority of the seamen on board directly from the “Sukhothai”, other seamen with life jackets were found in lifeboats in the water, it was 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. In fact, the sinking of the Sukhothai is the first loss of an active-duty warship for the Thai Navy since World War II.
Everything is being done to find the missing persons and to clarify the exact causes, the admiral said. 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 nearly 80 meter long corvette, along with six sister ships of the same class, has been in service for the past 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.