Forty-One Dead in Tragic Shipwreck Off Coast of Thailand

Last week, a boat was discovered overturned near the coast of Thailand.

The ship sunk while carrying over a hundred passengers. The death toll of people involved in the accident has increased as more details of the story are revealed. As of Sunday, the number stood at a tragic forty-one, with fifteen passengers still missing. Many of these passengers were Chinese tourists.

The incident occurred near the island of Phuket, in the south of Thailand. The city’s governor stated that over fifty people have been rescued from the boat, and that the boat overturned due to being hit by 16-foot waves. Many people who joined rescue efforts to find the deceased bodies spoke to the Associated Press of the traumatic scenes they witnessed. They reportedly found bodies of children being held by their mothers in an attempt to rescue them. The divers and teams have stated that their main objective is to bring the bodies to the tourists’ families.

A representative from the Thai Navy team who is responsible for the search stated over the weekend that hopes of finding other survivors are constantly diminishing. He and his team concluded the search on Saturday and stated that the missing bodies and possible survivors will soon float to the surface, which will allow them to be gathered by the squad.

Chinese authorities have also requested for more freezers to be sent to Phuket, as the state’s morgue has reached capacity and will need more space for the recently found bodies. Over half of the requested number of freezers have been already sent to the island.

Chinese authorities have also begun sharing awareness of the dangers of traveling during Thailand’s rainy season, encouraging Thai authorities to share this information as well.

Especially surrounding the coasts, the season between May and mid-October is usually filled with strong winds and chaotic storms.

The incident could be damaging for the country’s economy, as their main source of income is tourism.

When asked on Friday about the events and the sinking itself, the boat’s captain stated:

Seawater flooded inside the vessel. The water pump was not fast enough to pump the water out and the boat began to lean. I asked all passengers to check that their life jackets were secure. Two life rafts were deployed while nearby fishing boats were contacted for help. The boat sank very quickly. We did our best to keep the passengers calm and keep them safe during the chaos.”

According to the Chinese embassy in Thailand, Chinese Ambassador Lyu Jian immediately communicated with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak after the incident was recognized by the government. They both worked all throughout the weekend to contact and received the victims’ families in Thailand, and have treated the survivors with medical aid. Jian and  Jatusripitak coordinated Thai and Chinese companies in order to accomplish these goals.

Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons