Boat capsizes in Songkhla, search for missing crew continues
A fishing boat capsized off the coast of Songkhla, leaving crew members stranded at sea. Five of the crew have been rescued, while the search continues for two missing crew members.
The incident was reported around 9am yesterday, December 15, to the Second Naval Area Command’s Maritime National Interests Administration Centre by Krit Phitakkhumpol, owner of the fishing vessel, Krit 11. The boat, weighing 49.37 gross tonnes, was operating with seven crew members when it sank approximately 76 kilometres east of the Songkhla shipping channel.
In response, Vice Admiral Nares Wongtrakun, Commander of the Second Naval Area Command, dispatched a patrol aircraft, a helicopter, and the HTMS Pattani, along with a special operations team, to assist in the rescue mission.
The helicopter was the first to locate and rescue four crew members from the sea using a sling to lift them to safety. They were transported safely back to the Songkhla Naval Base airport.
As the rescue operation continued, a fifth crew member was found floating in the sea and subsequently rescued. However, the search persists for the remaining two crew members who are still unaccounted for. The helicopter, patrol aircraft, and HTMS Pattani remain actively engaged in the search operation until the missing crew members are located, reported KhaoSod.
The Second Naval Area Command urged anyone with information or in need of assistance at sea to contact their disaster relief hotline at 1696. The Maritime National Interests Administration Centre can also be contacted through their hotline at 1465.
In other news, a Saudi Arabian couple experienced a harrowing ordeal when their jet ski overturned a few kilometres off Jomtien Beach near Pattaya.
Rescue workers were alerted to the situation shortly after midnight yesterday, December 14, when 26 year old Alamri Abdulrahman Mahdi, reached Jomtien Beach. Exhausted and wearing a life vest, he asked for assistance for his wife, who was still in the water with their rented Jet Ski.
