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Phuket tour boats overturn in storm, rescue mission launched


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Posted
14 hours ago, Old Croc said:

I am surprised they were out there and hadn't made all haste back to shore before the weather hit. 

It was forecast and even I knew it was coming.

 

Profit over safety too often in Thailand.  This is the downside of "deregulated markets."  

 

Posted

RIP.

 

OK. That being said, it's time for the photo caption contest:

 

"I told you this Thailand boat tour was too cheap to be real"

Or

"We got their money, should we throw them back?"

 

 

imageproxy.php.jpg

  • Sad 1
Posted

I live a couple of kilometers from Chalong Pier.

At the height of the storm I was at the back door watching and waiting for a huge tree nearby to come down. It was waving around like a twig. 

The wind gusts were among the most violent I've seen and I've been through a cyclone.

In a video where a number of boats are holding position to ride out the storm, the sea almost looks calm. I think such strong winds leveled out the chop to make it appear almost calm. It was anything but.

  • Like 1
Posted

Thailand boat accident: One dead, 56 missing after tourist boat sinks

 

2018-07-06T031915Z_1_LYNXMPEE6507V_RTROPTP_3_THAILAND-ACCIDENT-BOAT.JPG

Rescued people sit on a fishing boat after a boat they were travelling in capsized off the tourist island of Phuket, Thailand July 5, 20

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Chinese man has died and 56 other people are missing after a tourist boat capsized in turbulent waters off the coast of Thailand's popular Phuket tourist island.

 

The boat, called the Phoenix, was carrying 105 passengers, including 93 Chinese tourists and 12 Thai crew and tourist guides, when it capsized, officials said on Friday. They said a rescue operation was underway to find the missing 56.

 

"One person is dead, 11 injured (2 have severe injuries, 5 minor) and 56 are missing. We continue to gather a team to search for them," the Water Safety Department of the Harbour Department said.

 

"Forty-eight were saved," it said.

 

The department said a dead man was pulled from the water.

 

The Royal Thai Marine Corps said in a statement that the Phoenix sank about 7-kms (5 miles) from the shore and the boat had sunk to a depth of about 38-40 metres (yards).

 

"We will search under the belly of the boat," the Marines said.

 

The Chinese embassy in Bangkok said in a statement that it had requested the Thai government make all-out rescue efforts, and that it had sent a team to Phuket to help.

 

It added that the Chinese consulate in southern Thailand already had staffers on the scene helping its citizens.

 

The Serenta, another boat sailing in the same area, also capsized. The yacht was carrying 35 tourists, five crew and a guide. Most of the passengers onboard the yacht have been rescued but two are still missing, the department said.

 

Thailand is in the midst of its monsoon season which begins in May and usually ends in October. The monsoon season often brings high winds to coastal areas and flash storms.

 

Thailand has poor road and boat safety records. Many tour operators have complained about lax enforcement when it comes to basic safety measures, including seatbelts in cars and lifejackets on boats.

 

More than 20 people were killed when a tourist boat carrying 150 people capsized in Thailand's ancient city of Ayutthaya in 2016. Officials blamed the accident on overcrowding and reckless piloting.

 

Chinese tourists make up the biggest foreign visitors to Thailand, with numbers surging in recent years due to the increasing popularity of Thailand's islands and cosmopolitan.

 

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat: Additional reporting by Gao Liangping and Ben Blanchard in Beijing: Editing by Neil Fullick)

 
reuters_logo.jpg
-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-06

 

Posted
6 hours ago, ukrules said:

The sea in the pictures doesn't look that rough to me. Maybe these photos were taken after 'the storm'.

 

I have to question how sea worthy these vessels are.

You obviously are not a seaman or diver. It is not about it being rough, which it is, but the swells are huge too. Look at the left side of the photo at the big swell. Also the tourist divers were stupid to go out in that weather.

Posted

Horrible but always expected. Why...because there is way too much money at stake to call off these big tours plus there is also the possibility of overloading and most of these guests probably can't swim.  This many on one dive boat is insane and this is the outcome.  RIP to the people who won't make it, and I am sure there will be many.  Very sad news!

  • Sad 2
Posted

Seamanship would appear to be lacking here.  No reason, in these sheltered waters, for a boat to capsize if it was handled correctly and pointed into the waves

Posted
Just now, partjfos said:

its easy to see why they wouldnt all make it up to the top deck.

Especially if the captain was directing operations from a life raft.

Posted
1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

 

Good to see the captain and crew were not among the missing.

The captain looks to have stayed dry so I guess he was able to get into a life raft ok.

I'm sure he did.....no such thing passengers first here!

Posted

A troll post repeated four times has been removed, along with one reply

  • Confused 1
Posted
15 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Not surprised boats got in trouble in that wind. I am surprised they were out there and hadn't made all haste back to shore before the weather hit. 

It was forecast and even I knew it was coming.

 

Hope all are ok.

Business.... money..... baht, baht, baht

Posted
27 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

This many on one dive boat is insane and this is the outcome

Itll be a snorkeling boat with that many people. Diving in thai is dam nam and in my experience thais say this whether they mean snorkeling or diving, so probably just a translation gone slightly wrong. Chinese arent big divers anyway.

 

Ive taken trips around the trang islands and to angthong marine park and phi phi with 100+ people on them, never felt unsafe and i dont agree that more people necessarily means more unsafe as long as the safety measures are scaled up and proportionate to the number of passengers.

 

The bigger the boat the better in rough seas, actually.

Posted
12 hours ago, Maverell said:

Sorry to be a bit cynical, but these boat operators knew exactly what the weather conditions were like, and the forecast, but as always money is the driving factor. Not safety.

Yep- forecasts are always 100% accurate aren't they!

  • Like 2
Posted (edited)
33 minutes ago, nausea said:

Especially if the captain was directing operations from a life raft.

A "Captain" who probably bought his four gold bars in a Khao San gift shop and his "qualifications"on the same road!

He needs to be held responsible, as should the owners of the business for criminal negligence.

Edited by saminoz
  • Like 2
Posted

Phuket tour boat disaster: 7 more dead found, dozens still missing

The Phuket News

 

1530852145_1-org.jpg

Phuket Governor and accompanying officials walk along Chalong Pier this morning, ahead of seven bodies reported as being transported back to Phuket. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET: A Royal Thai Navy helicopter took to the sky at first light this morning as the search continued in the hope of finding 58 people still missing from the two boat sinkings amid the storm late yesterday afternoon.

 

Just before 11am today, officers at Chalong Pier confirmed that seven bodies recovered this morning were being back brought to Phuket at Chalong Pier.

 

Speaking from the Phuket Marine Office at Chalong Pier, Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong early today (July 6) confirmed that the body of one Chinese tourist had been recovered near Koh Aeo. That body was brought ashore last night. Reporters at the scene confirmed that the body was still wearing a life vest emblazoned with the logo of the Phoenix tour boat that sank yesterday.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-tour-boat-disaster-7-more-dead-found-dozens-still-missing-67770.php#B1ZSjYWTkRsT62Wt.97

 
tphuketnews_logo.jpg
-- © Copyright Phuket News 2018-07-06

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