38 foreign tourists are dead and 18 are still missing after two Phuket boats ignored storm warnings and capsized in heavy storms in what likely will become Thailand’s deadliest-ever day of marine accidents.

As of 3pm Saturday, 38 people – nearly all Chinese tourists – were confirmed dead following the sinking of the Phoenix and Serenita.

The 18 missing tourists from the Phoenix – which was packed with 93 foreigners and 12 crewmembers – are thought to be trapped in the hull of the vessel that plunged 40 meters to the sea bed. Royal Thai Navy divers were checking the hull for remains.

One body of a Chinese tourist wearing a life jacket was pulled from the sea Thursday night. Eleven survivors sustained injuries, two of them serious.

Another two people – identified by Thai media as Arun Hashanbin and Shun Hua Fang, a 30-year-old Chinese tourist – were still missing Friday after the Serenita sunk, tossing its 42 passengers and crew into turbulent seas.

Helicopters were searching the area and divers were expected to be sent to check the hull of the Serenita for bodies.

Two Russians also were rescued safely after dumping their jet ski and drifting in the heavy currents.

The tourist boats left shore against Marine Department advisories Thursday to take Chinese tour groups and a smattering of westerners for snorkeling trips off Koh Racha Noi and Koh Racha Yai. While the island itself is sheltered, the hour-long journey between there and Phuket’s Chalong Pier across the water can be treacherous during rainy season.

A heavy storm pounded the island Thursday, leaving many parts of Phuket flooded and without power even by Friday morning. The boats, which should have remained tied to their docks, were swamped by 5-meter-high waves, capsized and sunk in a matter of minutes.

While authorities said “most” survivors were found in life jackets, Thai news interviews with crew members indicated that many passengers weren’t, with deckhands saying they scrambled to get tourists into life vests once the vessels ran into problems.

The double-deck wooded boats are rarely rated for carrying more than 60 passengers, pointing to massive – and sadly typical – overloading.

If the fears of Phuket’s governor prove true and dozens of Chinese bodies are found in the hull of the sunken Phoenix, July 5, 2018 will go down as Thailand’s deadliest day on water.

Until now, the worst marine-related accident occurred on June 14, 1995 when 30 people waiting for a Chao Phraya River express boat died when an overloaded Prannok pier in Bangkok collapsed. Thirty-seven others were injured.

Six people were killed and more than 100 hurt on Nov. 3, 2013 when an overloaded, double-deck tourist boat running between Pattaya and Koh Chang.

Two South Koreans were killed and 41 other passengers injured on Oct. 20, 2014 when a speedboat smashed into a fishing trawler near the Phi Phi Islands. Again, overcrowding and reckless speed were blamed for the crash.

Each accident routinely is followed by well-publicized “crackdowns” on marine safety across the country, with politicians joining Marine Department officials in checking boat integrity, life jacket supplies and for drug use by crewmembers. But the crackdowns end soon after the TV camera lights go off, leaving Thailand’s marine transport sector to return to business as usual, where tour group baht often trumps common sense.

Photo Credit: ศปก.ทร.ภาค3





