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VIDEO: Warship capsizes in Thailand, leaving 31 sailors missing 

The warship with more than 100 crew members was on a routine sea patrol when it capsized during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand

By Katarina Hall

December 19, 2022 7:16pm

Updated: December 19, 2022 8:10pm

More than three dozen sailors are missing after a Thai warship capsized on Sunday evening, according to Thailand’s navy. Rescue operations are on their way. 

The warship with more than 100 crew members was on a routine sea patrol when it capsized during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand after water flooded its power controls, causing a short circuit. 

As of Monday, 75 sailors had been rescued and around 31 sailors are still missing. Initial rescue efforts were thwarted due to the high waves caused by the storm that sank the ship, according to the navy. 

According to a crew member interviewed by Thai PBS television, the ship was rocked by waves up to 10 feet high as it was sinking, complicating rescue efforts. The sailor said that he floated in the ocean for three hours before he was rescued. 

“The waves are still high and we cannot search for them from the horizontal line. We have to fly the helicopters and search for them from a bird’s eye view instead,” navy spokesman Pokkrong Monthatphalin told Thai PBS.

A video shared by Thailand’s navy shows the crew members wrapped in blankets and being treated after they had been rescued. According to the Army Times Thailand, 43 crew members were injured. Those who were more seriously injured were airlifted to nearby hospitals. 

Images shared by the navy show sailors being rescued from a life raft after they had jumped from the sinking ship. 

"This has almost never happened in our force's history, especially to a ship that is still in active use," Admiral Pokkrong told the BBC. 

 

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