The Thai Navy announced on Tuesday that five of its sailors were killed when the warship “HTMS Sukhothai” sank in the Gulf of Thailand.
And the navy announced the recovery of 5 bodies and the rescue of one sailor as part of the ongoing search for about 30 sailors who went missing as a result of the shipwreck last Sunday.
The news agency “Associated Press” quoted Thai Navy officials – did not name them – as saying that “hopes that there will be more than 20 people still alive are fading.”
Officials admitted that there were not enough life jackets for all the sailors on board the ship, which has been operating for about 35 years, according to the same source.
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The ship sank with 105 sailors on board, of whom 77 have been rescued, and 24 are still missing, in addition to the five dead.
For his part, Chief of Staff of the Thai Navy, Chonlatis Navanugraha, said that the survivor and the five bodies were found with some debris 60 km from the site of the shipwreck.
It is noteworthy that the Thai Navy deployed 4 large ships, two maritime patrol planes, two helicopters and a drone in the framework of search and rescue operations.
The navy was unable to use small boats, due to the high waves and the instability of the sea.
Strong winds and high waves caused sea water to enter the ship on Sunday evening, disrupting its electrical system and making it almost impossible to control.
