Thai Navy releases first images of sunken warship as divers continue with search
BANGKOK - The Royal Thai Navy has released the first underwater images of HTMS Sukhothai after the warship disappeared beneath 4-metre waves and strong winds in the Gulf of Thailand 11 days ago.
The United States-made corvette capsized and sank some 37km off the Thai western coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan province on Dec 18, with 105 crew onboard.
On Wednesday, three more bodies of Sukhothai crewmen were found on and around islands off Chumphon province.
As of Thursday morning, the death toll stood at 24 sailors in what the Navy described as a “historic loss”.
Seventy-six crewmen were rescued and brought safely to shore as soon as, or just after, the corvette sank. Some others had to abandon ship without life jackets and went missing in rough seas.
Photos and video grabs of the wreck were taken by an undersea drone and a team of divers, who reached the ship for the first time on Wednesday.
Thursday saw the SeaFox drone and dive team back at the wreck site, which lies at a depth of 40 metres, as the team searched for bodies of the five crewmen still missing.
The team was also tasked with surveying damage in preparation for the mission to lift the Sukhothai from the seabed.
HTMS Rawee is circling above the sunken warship as an operating base for the divers. The search mission launched for its 11th day on Thursday with five more to go, said the Navy on Thursday morning.
Of the 24 dead victims, 20 have been identified while DNA test results are pending for the rest. - THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now