Foreigners missing as ship capsizes off Phuket

[Spitfire]

Body found at Thai accident site

Rescuers say they have found the body of a Caucasian woman in the sea, after a boat carrying 30 people capsized off Thailand's south-western coast.

The search is continuing for six others - a Thai national and five foreigners.

Officials said the boat sank in stormy weather in the early hours of Monday as it returned from the Similan islands, which are popular with divers.

The Thai navy said 23 survivors were found shortly after the boat sank, and had been taken to hospital.

Officials earlier said they were looking for two Swiss nationals, two Australians, one Japanese, a Thai and a German citizen.


All were said to be tourists on a diving expedition except for the Thai national, who was the boat's cook.
"The rescue team found the body of a European female floating near the accident site," marine police spokesman Lt Col Wallop Puangpaka told AFP news agency.

"But we cannot be sure that she was one of the six tourists. We have to wait for a doctor's autopsy," he said.

An unnamed official told reporters that the chances of survival for those still missing were now slim.

Helicopters searching the area in calm seas had not found the boat, the official added.

The Similan islands are located in the Andaman Sea about 120km (75 miles) north-west of Phuket - one of Thailand's top tourist destinations.

Story from BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/a ... 933371.stm

Published: 2009/03/10 11:20:14 GMT


Bad news there, still looking for six westerners and a Thai. Maybe they should start enforcing some marine safety laws on these outdated boats. When you see some of these boats and their crews, all that springs to mind is "Yahooooo!". Don't they know if a storm is inbound? Who makes the decision to sail? Is it the captain or a desk jockey in an office somewhere?

[Nereus]

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx? ... tID=129520

Divers have found the bodies of four missing foreign tourists trapped inside a boat which capsized near the Thai tourist isle of Phuket during a scuba diving trip, police say.

Police today also identified a fifth body found floating in the sea on Tuesday as that of an Austrian woman, while a Japanese tourist and a Thai cook remained unaccounted for three days after the vessel sank in a storm.

“We have found the ship and there were four bodies stuck inside. The wreckage was about 60 to 70 metres deep,” Lt-Col Wallop Puangpaka of Phuket marine police told AFP.

Police said the bodies were believed to be those of an Austrian, a German and two Swiss nationals who were among 30 people on the boat when it was reported missing on Sunday night.

“But we cannot retrieve the bodies because it is very deep and there is a lack of oxygen for the divers. That will resume tomorrow,” Lt-Col Wallop said.

He said the divers who found the bodies were foreigners and were associated with the company which operated the ill-fated diving trip.

The 18-metre diving boat was returning from the Similan islands off southern Thailand when it capsized. Police and navy rescued 23 passengers and crew, including an Australian tourist, on Monday afternoon.

Police separately identified the Austrian woman whose body was discovered in the sea following the accident as Gabriele Jetzinger, 51.

Her husband, a physician, helped Thai officials identify her body using dental records, a ring and a watch, they said. She was to be cremated on Thursday at a Thai temple, police added.

Phuket, Thailand’s biggest island, is one of the kingdom’s leading tourist draws, with holidaymakers attracted by its white-sand beaches, plush resorts and spas, and clear blue seas.