Bangkok, Dec. 21 (BNA): Thai rescue teams raced against the clock to find the remaining 23 sailors after a cruiser sank during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand late Sunday night.
The Royal Thai Navy said that so far 75 sailors have been rescued from HTMS Sukhothai with one sailor found alive 60 km from the place where the ship sank. Bernama said he was reported to be in a weak but stable condition.
Rescue teams also found the bodies of six missing sailors on Tuesday.
“So far, there are still 23 missing sailors,” she added.
The warship, HTMS Sukhothai, carrying 105 sailors, suffered an engine malfunction and sank about 20 nautical miles off Prachuap Khiri Khan district at around 11.30pm (local time) on Sunday.
Initially, Navy officials said 106 people were on board, but revised that number to 105 on Tuesday.
Warships and helicopters have been deployed to scan an area of 50 square kilometers over the Gulf of Thailand to find survivors.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Chulatit Navanukru thanked the Malaysian and US navies for their assistance in the search for the missing sailors.
FAE