2 more bodies found near HTMS Sukhothai wreckage site, 16 still missing
Two more bodies believed to be sailors from the ill-fated HTMS Sukhothai were found floating in the Gulf of Thailand on Saturday night, the Royal Thai Navy said.
The two new bodies bring to eight the number of bodies retrieved on Saturday, one week after the corvette sank in rough seas last Sunday.
The navy said of the bodies found so far, eight are undergoing identification process, which will take up to four days.
The navy said of the two new bodies found, one was spotted by HTMS Narathiwas at 8.20pm at the Sector 2 area south of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan, where the corvette sank. Ten minutes later, HTMS Kraburi found another body some 53 kilometres from the Prachuap Khiri Khan coast.
The authorities say 14 sailors are still missing.
HTMS Sukhothai, a Rattanakosin-class corvette, capsized during stormy weather with 105 crew onboard last Sunday night. The ship sank some 20 nautical miles (32 kilometres) off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district.
Before Saturday, the search and rescue mission discovered seven bodies, and all have been confirmed to be Sukhothai’s crew members.
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