Survivor found from Thai warship that sank, but 2 dozen people are still missing
BANGKOK — Rescuers found a survivor and recovered five bodies from a Thai warship that sank over the weekend, navy officials said Tuesday, as hopes faded for two dozen people still missing and officials acknowledged that there were not enough life jackets for all those aboard.
The warship Sukhothai, a corvette in service for 35 years, sank Sunday night in rough seas in the Gulf of Thailand with 105 people aboard. The navy said an earlier tally of 106 people on board was incorrect because one sailor had failed to join the journey.
Navy commander Adm. Cherngchai Chomcherngpat said initially at a news conference in Bangkok on Tuesday that two people had been rescued but later said he had received updated information that only one person was alive and that five bodies had been recovered. According to those figures, 76 people have now been rescued, five have been found dead and 24 are still unaccounted for.
Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Chonlathis Navanugraha said the survivor and the bodies, along with some debris, were found about 37 miles from where the ship sank. He said the U.S., Britain and Malaysia have offered to help in the search.
The survivor, identified as Chananyu Kansriya, was found floating in the sea about 3 p.m. and was picked up by a passing cargo ship, Chonlathis said. A navy frigate was bringing him back to shore.
Vice Adm. Pichai Lorchusakul, commander of the 1st Naval Area Command, told reporters that Chananyu was in weak condition and would receive medical treatment on the frigate.
Rescuers were dispatched to save passengers of a small vessel that capsized in the English Channel, which 44,000 migrants have tried to cross in 2022.
The vice admiral was quoted by the Thai Rath newspaper as saying search efforts had been accelerated, but the missing could not be expected to survive in the sea for longer than two days.
Chonlathis was slightly more optimistic. “Judging from the direction of the water and the wind, it is blowing toward the beach,” he said. “That is good luck. We continue to search with hope.”
The navy has deployed four large ships, two maritime patrol aircraft, two helicopters and a drone, and the air force has contributed one plane and one helicopter to the search-and-rescue effort. Small boats could not be used because the sea remained extremely choppy, navy officers said.
The search is gradually moving south to take into account the currents, Capt. Kraipich Korawee-Paparwit, commander of one of the rescue ships, told Thai PBS television.
Strong winds and high waves caused seawater to enter the ship Sunday evening, knocking out its electrical system and making control of the ship virtually impossible. Other naval vessels sped to the scene, about 20 miles offshore, to try to assist the stricken vessel but could not do much because of the poor sea conditions. Because the ship could not be controlled, more water entered, causing it to list and sink.
Two boats carrying migrants sank in Greek waters, sparking a dramatic rescue operation that involved hauling stranded people up steep cliffs.
Survivors interviewed by Thai television said there had not been enough life jackets because the ship was carrying guests in addition to its normal crew, which the navy website said was 87 sailors and officers.
“This operation, they added staff from the Marine Corps and Air and Coastal Defense Command, about 30 people. This is why I think there were not enough life jackets,” Cherngchai told PPTV television.
A video of Pichai speaking at one of the rescue centers Tuesday showed him being confronted by a woman who said she was the mother of one of the missing sailors.
“My son called me with his friend’s phone when the ship started to sink. He said he did not get a life jacket and only a life buoy. As a parent, when I heard this, my heart was broken. If there were not enough life jackets, how much hope can you give me?” she said.
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Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he had assigned his deputy defense minister to visit the surviving sailors Tuesday.
“Nobody wants this to happen,” said Prayuth, a former army commander who also serves as defense minister. “We will investigate the cause and never let it happen again.”
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