A rescue operation is underway after the Thai navy reported nearly three dozen sailors went missing when one of its warships capsized in Thailand waters on Sunday night, reports BBC.
Warships capsize in Thailand
The warship, which carried more than 100 crew members, capsized and sank after water flooded its power controls Sunday during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand.
As of Monday, 75 sailors from the HTMS Sukhothai corvette had been rescued and 31 were still missing, the navy said. The high waves that caused the accident had lessened since Sunday night’s sinking, but were still high enough to endanger small boats, the navy said.
Footage shared by the navy on Twitter showed crew members wrapped in blankets and receiving treatment after they had been rescued. Some were being airlifted to hospital. Other images showed sailors from the warship in a life raft, having jumped from the sinking vessel.
The Royal Thai Navy corvette Sukhothai sank in the Gulf of #Thailand in a storm.
There were 106 sailors on board. 75 of them were evacuated, the fate of the rest is unknown. pic.twitter.com/fexCI6oBRs
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 19, 2022
Investigation underway
A rescued crew member interviewed by Thai PBS television said he had to float in the sea for three hours before he was rescued. He said the ship was buffeted by waves 10 feet high as it was sinking Sunday night, complicating rescue efforts.
“The waves are still high, and we cannot search for them from the horizontal line. We have to fly the helicopters and search for them from a bird’s eye view instead,” navy spokesman Pokkrong Monthatphalin told Thai PBS.
The Thai navy could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY.
“This has almost never happened in our force’s history, especially to a ship that is still in active use,” the spokesperson told the BBC. The cause of the capsize remained under investigation Monday.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: BBC
