Picture courtesy of Channel 7

 

A 58-year-old fisherman has been rescued after spending eight days floating in the sea, clinging to a tank lid, following the sinking of his trawler off the coast of Rayong. The man, identified as Mr. Yutthana, was found alive on the evening of 31 October, in waters off Prachuap Khiri Khan province. His wife had reported him missing days earlier after losing contact during a fishing trip.

 

According to reports, Mr. Yutthana set out alone from the Phe subdistrict of Rayong City on 24 October aboard his trawler Chok Neung to catch squid near Kaeng Hin Phloeng, around 28 kilometres offshore from Kram subdistrict in Klaeng district. During the voyage, he called his wife, Ms. Supattra, to report an engine failure but later became unreachable. Concerned for his safety, she contacted the Thai Navy’s Marine Department to initiate a search.

 

Despite extensive efforts by naval patrol boats and local trawlers, the search in the Kaeng Hin Phloeng area yielded no results. Ms. Supattra subsequently filed a missing person report with Phe Police Station. Authorities and local fishermen continued scanning the area but were hampered by rough seas and poor visibility caused by seasonal storms.

 

In a remarkable turn of events, Ms. Supattra was informed that another fishing vessel had discovered her husband floating adrift off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan. The crew rescued him and reported that he had survived by holding onto a tank lid, drifting for days before being spotted.

 

Officials confirmed that Mr. Yutthana was in fairly good condition upon rescue. He has since been reunited with his wife and is able to eat and drink normally. His survival has been described as “miraculous,” given the distance he drifted and the stormy conditions at sea. The Marine Department said it will review the incident to improve safety protocols for small fishing boats operating in open waters.

 

Key Takeaways

 

• A 58-year-old fisherman survived eight days adrift at sea after his trawler sank off Rayong.

• He was rescued off Prachuap Khiri Khan, nearly 200 km from where his boat disappeared.

• Authorities plan to review small-boat safety procedures following the incident.

 

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  Adapted  by  Asean  Now from CH7  2025-11-02

 

 

 

 

Happy for him.

Wow, he drifted quite a bit from Rayong, miraculous indeed!! 

Tough guys these Fishermen out in the storms like last night. Some for up to 12 hours every night. 
Eight days without food or drink, he was really determined to hang on to life and see his family again.

That's one very lucky guy... albeit he lost the fishing boat

12 minutes ago, BexMan said:

Tough guys these Fishermen out in the storms like last night. Some for up to 12 hours every night. 
Eight days without food or drink, he was really determined to hang on to life and see his family again.

I agree that’s a long time in the water he might have had time to grab some supplies off his boat before it sank……remarkable and yup one tough dude I’d certainly buy him a beer!

No water for eight days ? did it rain ?

Time to invest in a EPIRB?

On 11/2/2025 at 9:28 AM, Georgealbert said:

Authorities plan to review small-boat safety procedures following the incident.

 

No matter what type of accident, sadly Thailand is always reactive and not proactive!

On 11/2/2025 at 2:28 AM, Georgealbert said:

The Marine Department said it will review the incident to improve safety protocols for small fishing boats operating in open waters.

 

Always retroactive!