Diveboat sinks: one dead
PHUKET: One person died when a diveboat capsized and sank 40 kilometers off the coast of Phuket in a storm this morning.
The 24-meter liveaboard boat Bubble Blue, from the Khao Lak-based dive business of the same name, was travelling from Phuket to the Similan Islands to carry out a survey of coral reefs when it was hit by a four-meter wave at around 8 am.
A woman diver named as Sukonthapan Weerawan, 36, from Bangkok, went into shock and died shortly before a Royal Thai Navy helicopter arrived at the scene.
The Pichai Thavorn 4, a local fishing boat, rescued the 18 Thai nationals.
A salvage operation will be undertaken once the weather settles.
