Last missing body found in Phuket

A BODY which may be the last missing passenger on board the capsized tourist boat Phoenix in Thailand’s Phuket was found yesterday, Phuket Provincial Governor Norraphat Plodthong said.

Thai and Chinese rescuers found Chinese yuan and sea sickness pills on the body, and the person was wearing the same life jacket as other passengers on board Phoenix. Based on this, the body was assumed to be the last missing passenger in Phuket boat accident, Norraphat said.

As of 5pm, 47 were confirmed dead in the boat accident, including a body still trapped by the boat’s wreckage underwater, the governor said.

Ram Union rescue team from China, together with a ThaiChinese rescue team called Blue Sea, told Chinese media that they found the body yesterday afternoon. So far, 43 bodies have been confirmed to be Chinese tourists, while Thai authorities are identifying the rest, Norraphat said.

He also said Phuket will improve boat safety measures in the near future to assure there is no repeat of such tragedy.

Thai and Chinese rescue teams dived to check the Phoenix yesterday, but their work was hampered by bad weather, said Rear Admiral Charoenphol Koomrasee, deputy commander of the Third Fleet of the Royal Thai Navy.

“We will resume to retrieve the body pressed by the boat to the seabed tomorrow if the weather let us to do so,” Charoenphol added.

Two tourist boats, Phoenix and Serenata, were overturned in rough seas on July 5. All the passengers on board Serenata were rescued, and all the victims were from Phoenix. There were 89 tourists on board Phoenix.