Phuket: 40 bodies recovered. 16 Chinese tourists remain missing.
The Phuket Harbour Department has announced that 40 passengers of the ill-fated Phoenix dive boat are confirmed dead as a result of the sinking of the vessel yesterday afternoon.
Rescuers, led by the Royal Thai Navy, continue to comb the seas around Phuket for the remaining 16 missing Chinese, says the department in a statement.
49 people have been rescued. Most of the recovered bodies haven’t yet been sent ashore to be held at Vachira Phuket Hospital morgue. Many were found trapped inside the boat.
The Phoenix dive boat was carrying 105 passengers – 93 tourists and 12 boat crew and tour guides – when it sank in the Andaman Sea south-west of Phuket late yesterday afternoon.
