Death toll from sinking of Thai navy ship rises to 18 - CNN

Bangkok, Thailand CNN  — 

Thailand’s navy said Sunday that the decease toll from the sinking of 1 of its warships earlier successful the week had risen to 18.

The HTMS Sukhothai sank successful terrible upwind aboriginal Monday, leaving dozens of its unit missing successful stormy seas successful the Gulf of Thailand.

11 officers stay missing, the Royal Thai Navy said successful an update Sunday. Of the 105 connected committee the vessel astatine the clip of the disaster, 76 person been rescued.

The vessel was carrying 30 much radical than accustomed astatine the clip of its sinking, and determination were not capable beingness jackets for each of them, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy Adm. Cherngchai Chomcherngpat said Tuesday.

The other officers were aboard due to the fact that the vessel was taking portion successful a salute to the laminitis of the Thai navy, Cherngchai said. The unit were “fully alert astir the occupation of not having capable beingness jackets for 30 further officers. They tried to usage different tools which could prevention the lives of officers who didn’t person beingness jackets,” Cherngchai added.

Some of those without beingness jackets tried to flight connected inflatable rafts, immoderate of which were stored aboard the HTMS Sukhothai and immoderate of which were dropped by rescue helicopters and different ships.

“With oregon without beingness overgarment (it) doesn’t impact the likelihood of surviving,” the admiral said.

He said the vessel sank aft seawater entered and disabled its powerfulness systems.

Waves were betwixt 3 and 4 meters (10 feet to 13 feet) precocious astatine the clip and the h2o somesthesia was astir 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit).

Water entered the beforehand information of the 252-foot (76.8-meter) agelong warship astir 8:45 p.m. Sunday, Cherngchai said.

The flooding continued for much than 3 hours, yet disabling the ship’s motor and electrical systems and dooming efforts to pump it out.

Rescue teams successful helicopters tried to little h2o pumps to the vessel but the efforts were thwarted arsenic the vas began to tilt heavily.

The admiral dismissed a proposition that the astir 40-year-old vessel mightiness not person been successful due signifier to grip the precocious seas, saying it had been upgraded respective times successful caller years.