Crewman’s body washes ashore Phi Phi coast

PHUKET: Phi Phi locals yesterday discovered the body of a crewman who drowned after the cargo boat he was working on sank in heavy weather on Monday (story here).

The body of the man, named by police only as “Mr Au”, was discovered at Ao Rantee on the Phi Phi coast at about 1pm.

“Mr Au’s body washed up on shore in an area where there weren’t many tourists. It’s a rocky section of the coastline about 1.5 nautical miles from where the boat sank,” Lt Col Chaiyasit Kancharoen of the Krabi Marine Police told the Phuket Gazette.

“When we arrived, the body had already been taken to Phi Phi Hospital, and the cause of death confirmed as drowning.”

Marine Police managed to rescue 14 crewmen from the water after Sor Jatuporn sank. However, the rescue team was unable to find Mr Au.

“Mr Au is the brother of one of the crew,” Col Chaiyasit explained. “He told us that Mr Au could not swim, so we originally thought that his body might have still been in the wreck, which is sitting at a depth of 25 meters.”

Mr Au’s brother has already collected the body from officials to prepare for the funeral.

— Chutharat Plerin