Shipwreck survivors plucked from sea

PHUKET: A Thai transport ship, H. Charoensamut 28, on Monday rescued nine Indonesian sailors whose cargo vessel had sunk two days earlier. The survivors are now in Phuket awaiting repatriation. Jian Tabpian, 51, captain of the Thai ship, told Marine Police that as his vessel was passing through the Straits of Malacca, one of his crew saw the nine men floating in the sea, hanging on to fuel barrels and pieces of wood. All were picked up. The nine survivors told them that they were from the Bintang Reziki, an Indonesian cargo ship which had sunk in the area after running into a violent storm. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured. The H. Charoensamut 28 dropped the Indonesians off at Ta-Pao Island, where Marine Police took over and brought them to Phuket. “I’m happy that the Charoensamut’s crew helped these poor Indonesians when they could have just pretended not to have seen them,” said Pol Lt Col Banjerd Piriyawong, the Deputy Superintendent of the Phuket Marine Police (Region 5). “I think they are very honorable people.”