24-12-2023 (BANGKOK) Efforts are underway to locate two individuals, a Thai cook and a British tourist, who are still missing following the sinking of a scuba-diving tour boat near Ko Torinla or Ko Khai island on Saturday. In response, a search and rescue centre has been established in Phuket.
Ko Torinla, part of the Surin Islands National Park, is an archipelago consisting of five islands located approximately 55 kilometres from the mainland in the Andaman Sea.
Vice Admiral Suchart Thampitakvej, the Director of the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC) and the 3rd Naval Area, issued an order to establish a search and rescue centre at the 3rd Naval Area headquarters in Laem Panwa, tambon Wichit of Muang district, Phuket.
The Tor 995 patrol boat was deployed from the search and rescue centre at 7:45 am to comb the area northwest of where the boat, named the Reggae Queen, had sunk.
At 9 am, a reconnaissance plane took off from its operational base to provide support to the Tor 995 patrol boat during the search. Additionally, members of a navy security unit conducted thorough sweeps of the surroundings near the Surin Islands National Park.
The scuba-diving tour boat had 18 passengers on board at the time of the incident. Sixteen individuals were successfully rescued and transported to the nearby Khura Buri Pier. However, the Thai cook and the British tourist remain unaccounted for, prompting ongoing search efforts.
