Bodies of 4 HTMS Sukhothai crew found, hunt on for remaining 25
The Royal Thai Navy announced at 4pm on Tuesday that the bodies of four HTMS Sukhothai crew members were found floating in the sea. The bodies have been taken to shore and will be identified before they are taken back to their families.
Earlier on Tuesday, the navy tweeted that it had found the second of the 31 missing HTMS Sukhothai crew members, and had taken him to HTMS Angthong for medical treatment.
“The man rescued was identified as Seaman Chananyu Kaensriya and he had been pulled out of the sea by sailors on the Phumnara cargo ship,” the navy said.
Navy personnel and volunteers have been hunting for missing personnel after the HTMS Sukhothai, a Rattanakosin-class corvette, sank during stormy weather in the Gulf of Thailand on Sunday night.
The ship sank some 20 nautical miles (32 kilometres) off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district.
The first of the 31 missing crew members was rescued on Monday night. Chief Petty Officer Natee Timdee was spotted floating unconscious and plucked out of the sea before being taken to Bang Saphan Hospital.
Royal Thai Fleet chief Admiral Adung Phaniem said HTMS Sukhothai commanding officer Commander Pichitchai Tuannadee had done his best to deal with the disaster on Sunday night.
“The commanding officer said he has never faced such a situation over the past 10 years,” the admiral said, adding that the search for the missing crew members will continue until everybody is found.
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