A warship carrying
more than 100 crew members collapsed and sank in the Gulf of Thailand during a
storm, according to the Thai navy, leaving 31 servicemen unaccounted for.
On Sunday night,
the HTMS Sukhothai sunk after water filled its electrical controls. The
military posted pictures of some of the sailors who made it out alive on a life
raft.
Authorities said on
Monday that they had saved 75 sailors, but 31 were remained missing in choppy
waters.
According to a
military spokeswoman, "We will keep looking."
The search for
survivors continued on Monday with air force support after search teams worked
all night.
The navy also said
that it will look into what caused the accident.
Admiral Pogkrong
Monthardpalin, a spokesperson for the force, told the BBC that such an incident
"has nearly never occurred in the history of our force, especially to a
ship that is still in active operation."
The navy tweeted
video of the crew members being treated after being rescued and being wrapped
in blankets. Some patients were being evacuated to hospitals.
Other pictures
showed Sukhothai crew members in a life raft after they leapt from the sinking
ship.
Unnamed crew member
claimed he spent many hours in the sea before being rescued.
In a video clip
that was shown on regional media, he claimed, "The waves were pretty high,
around three meters when the ship sank.”I jumped after putting on the life
jacket. For three hours, I swam."
According to
officials, the ship sank after absorbing water, which swamped its hull and shut
off its power room.
The crew struggled
to maintain control of the ship when the power went out, and it leaned to one
side before sinking at 23:30 local time on Sunday (16:30 GMT).
The ship was
trapped in the storm on Sunday as it was on a patrol 32 kilometers (20 miles)
east of Bang Saphan in the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Dramatic images of
the ship falling over its side and backup rescue ships searching for survivors
in turbulent waters were uploaded on the Thai Navy's Twitter account.
Only the HTMS
Kraburi managed to reach the ship before it sunk despite the fact that three
navy ships and helicopters were dispatched to help.
According to the
navy, the frigate took up the majority of the Sukhothai's crew. There were
sailors on life rafts and the sea wearing life jackets. On their condition, the
navy has provided very little information. Pictures of medical professionals at
the dock escorting crew members off in stretchers were released in the local
media.
Authorities were
looking into the incident, according to a statement made public on Monday by
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha.
About five
individuals had critical injuries, according to the news that I am actively
monitoring, he added.
In the middle of
the 1980s, the US produced the HTMS Sukhothai for the Thai navy.