Foul weather hampers search for body off Koh Kai Nai

PHUKET: Stormy conditions over the Andaman Sea today hampered search efforts to locate a body spotted floating off Koh Kai Nai, an island off the east coast of Phuket.

“We received a call from a villager on Koh Kai Nai at about 12:30pm saying that he saw a body floating in the sea between Koh Yao Yai and Koh Kai Nai,” Phuket Marine Police Officer Panya Chaiachana told the Phuket Gazette.

“We sent Marine Police officers with Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers to search by boat, but the strong waves and stormy conditions made it difficult. They could not find anything.”

The team is now on standby, and waiting for better conditions to resume their search.

“They will go back out to look for the body after the weather improves, but they will need to widen their search area,” Col Panya added.

Regarding unconfirmed reports of a body being spotted of Phi Phi Island, Lt Col Chaiyasit Kancharoen of the Krabi Marine Police said that he had not received such a report.

“We will look into it, but at this stage we have not received any reports of a person missing at sea in our area,” Col Chaiyasit said.

— Woranut Pechdee