Videos reveal treacherous weather conditions near where boat capsized off Phuket

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Videos reveal treacherous weather conditions near where boat capsized off Phuket

 

 

Videos shared to social media reveal the treacherous conditions that faced passengers and crew who were aboard boat that capsized near Phuket on Thursday.

 

The clips were taken in waters near Koh Racha close to the area where the boat, named Phoenix, which was carrying 105 passengers and crew sank after being hit by large waves.

 

Officials said on Friday afternoon that the death toll stood at 40 with 16 still missing with those figures expected to rise.

 

 

There were also two other boats that capsized in waters off Phuket on Thursday.

 

A Russian couple also had to be rescued after their jet ski capsized near Koh Racha.

 

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 aboard the yacht have been rescued but two are still missing, the department said.

 

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.

 

Additional text from Reuters

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

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-07-06

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jonathan Fairfield]

 

 

[evadgib]

If there weren't quite so many threads dedicated to the Chaing Rai cave rescue hogging the front page of the main board the people that needed to see this might have found it a little earlier! ?

 

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by evadgib

[NanLaew]

30 minutes ago, evadgib said:

If there weren't quite so many threads dedicated to the Chaing Rai cave rescue hogging the front page of the main board the people that needed to see this might have found it a little earlier! ?

 

 

It's Chiang Rai, not Chaing Rai.

[yougivemebaby]

This is why I always stay close to the exit if taking a boat or in a club. Always know where safety gear is (if they have it). Refuse to leave if conditions are dangerous. I would rather be stranded on an island for a night rather than stranded (or sunk) at sea. 

[oldrunner]

Common sense Safety precautions are not part of Thai culture. No seat belts, no helmets, no life preservers or how to use them, everyday traffic toll deaths, ho hum.

Edited July 7, 2018 by oldrunner
correct grammer

[IAMHERE]

Wow, did any other boats in the same weather NOT sink ?  Perhaps the captain was too unaware to order the crew to batten down the hatches and close the port holes. Those waves crashed over the bow and went straight down to the below decks; overloading the pumps or causing the pumps to stop functioning altogether.  This tragedy should not have occurred, in my opinion. 

Edited July 8, 2018 by IAMHERE
To add lawsuit weasel words.