Volunteer rescue teams join Navy in search for missing HTMS Sukhothai crew members
A volunteer rescue team from Chumphon and Surat Thani provinces on Thursday joined the search for the missing crew members of the HTMS Sukhothai that capsized in the Gulf of Thailand.
The warship, a Rattanakosin-class corvette, went down on Sunday around 20 nautical miles off Prachuap Khiri Khan province after it was knocked over by four-metre waves and strong winds.
Of the 105 military personnel on board, the bodies of six have been pulled out of the water, while 23 personnel are still missing.
Chumphon Governor Wisa Poonsirirat on Thursday assembled a team of 35 volunteer divers and rescue staffers from several foundations in the province and in Surat Thani. They have joined the search and rescue mission that the Royal Thai Navy has launched since the ship went down.
Wisa said volunteer divers, led by Watcharin Sawaengkarn, a prominent diving instructor in Chumphon, will scour the coast and nearby islands to find the missing crew members, but will avoid going too far from the shore as the waves in the gulf are still strong.
The governor expected more volunteers to join the civilian team in the coming days.
On Thursday, the Navy resumed its search and rescue mission, deploying six ships, two amphibious aircraft, two rescue helicopters, and an unmanned aerial vehicle. The Royal Thai Air Force has also joined the search efforts, deploying a plane and a helicopter.
The Navy also plans to use a Seafox underwater drone to record seabed footage of the HTMS Sukhothai in the Gulf of Thailand to determine the cause of its sinking.
