A flagship Royal Thai Navy warship sank amid strong waves and high winds on Sunday, with dozens of sailors still missing on Monday.
More than 100 sailors were rescued on Sunday evening from HTMS Sukhothai – one of just seven navy corvettes – after high winds made the boat tilt sharply toward the water, navy spokesperson Pokkrong Monthatphalin said in a statement.
Seawater flowed into the ship through a pipe, cutting off the Sukhothai’s power and causing the crew to lose control, Mr Monthatphalin said. Water then rushed into the hull and the boat began to capsize.
The vessel was patrolling about 32km from Bang Saphan District in central Thailand at the time. Storms had been expected in the Gulf of Thailand, with ferry services suspended after meteorologists warned of high waves and heavy rain on Sunday and Monday.
Videos and photos shared on social media show the Sukhothai listing at a nearly 60-degree angle to the water, the sound of whipping winds and shouting sailors in the background.
The army began a rescue mission with three other ships and two helicopters, with the HTMS Kraburi reaching the Sukhothai before it sank at about 11.30pm. Although the navy initially said all crew were considered safe, it released a later statement on Facebook saying that 33 people were still awaiting rescue in the water as of midmorning Monday.
A photograph posted on the Royal Thai Navy’s official Twitter account showed a small group of sailors wearing life vests as they sat in a circular lifeboat, though it wasn’t clear when it was taken. Eleven crew were meanwhile being treated at a local hospital while another 40 had been taken to a shelter, the navy said.
The incident marks the first sinking of a Thai warship since the second World War, according to Thai media outlet Khaosod English, when an American submarine torpedoed the HTMS Samui near Malaysia and killed 31 sailors.
The Sukhothai – equipped with a range of missiles, naval guns and torpedoes – was commissioned in 1987 after being built in the US. The Thai navy maintains six other corvettes, three of which were locally built, the US Naval Institute reported.