Bangkok, Thailand: Thai authorities said that a Royal Thai Navy warship sank in severe weather early Monday, leaving 33 of its crew of 106 sailors missing in stormy seas in the Gulf of Thailand.
Authorities said that three rescued sailors were in critical condition, and a search operation was underway for the missing crew.
Strong winds tilted the 252-foot (76.8-meter) long corvette HTMS Sukhothai, allowing seawater to enter an exhaust pipe and subsequently shut down the ship’s electrical system, a Thai navy statement said.
The electrical shutdown caused the ship’s main power systems to fail, leaving the crew unable to maneuver or pump out seawater that had entered its hull, it said.
Over the course of more than three hours, efforts to transfer pumps to the Sukhothai from other naval vessels responding to the incident failed.
“At 00.12 am of Monday, the Sukhothai tiled even further and later sank,” it said.
The severe weather in the Gulf of Thailand, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Bang Saphan District, Prachuap Khiri Khan province, continued into late Monday morning, hampering search efforts for the missing crew, authorities said.
Thai warship sinks in heavy seas with dozens feared missing.The Thai Navy says 31 sailors are missing after a warship carrying over 100 crew capsized and sank during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand. It's been more than 12 hours but we will keep looking,a navy spokesman told BBC. pic.twitter.com/29IaaiuYLx
— Sajjad (@Sajjad57678616) December 19, 2022
The 960-ton Sukhothai was built in the United States and commissioned into the Thai navy in 1987.
Carl Schuster, a retired US Navy captain, said the Thai crew faced a difficult situation on such an old ship.
“Once you lose power, you are in the dark and doing everything with portable diesel pumps and buckets,” he said.
“For a small, (almost) 40-year-old ship in heavy seas, the odds are against success in that case.”
Related Stories:
Sizzling Sakshi Malik Heats Up Thailand in Bikini Bliss
Thailand elections 2023: A Look At The Main Contenders
Video: Cambodia casino fire: 8 bodies found in ruins, 27 dead, 20 people missing
World’s Hottest Referee Karolina Bojar-Stefanska Heats Up Thailand In Tiny Bikini
DoJ Inquiry Puts Binance’s Thailand Expansion at Risk
Thailand Extends Nightclub Hours to 4 AM – A Boost for Tourism and the Economy?
NASA Confirms Launch Date for Its Massive Moon Rocket
The International Prime Awards Asia 2023 In Bangkok, Thailand
