Two more ships capsize off Phuket, rescue operations underway

PHUKET, THAILAND, July 8 (TNA) - As six crew members of a sunken cargo ship off Phuket Province have remained missing amid choppy sea and high waves, two more ships capsized off the southern resort Thai province on Wednesday morning, prompting local marine police and naval officers to have urgently searched for and assisted all those affected. Phuket's marine police received the SOS signal from the captain of a sinking fishing trawler on Wednesday morning, as the incident took place at about 16 nautical miles east of Racha Noi Island in Phuket, only one day after a cargo ship capsized off Phuket, about five nautical miles east of Racha Yai Island, with the fate of all its six crewmen remaining unknown. About two hours later, at about 10am, a Cambodia-registered container vessel, carrying six Indonesian and four Myanmar crewmen, faced an engine problem and hit a cluster of rocks near Hae Island off Phuket. Commander of Thailand's Third Navy Area Command Vice Admiral Sayan Prasongsamret told journalists that he has ordered a dispatch of His Thai Majesty Ship (HTMS) Chonburi from nearby Phang-nga Province to support the rescue operations, which have been jointly launched by local marine police and Third Navy Area Command officers, while nearby oil vessels have also been asked to provide initial assistance if they spotted any of those missing. Meanwhile, the rescue officers have reportedly rescued all 16 crew members of Wednesday morning's two ill-fated ships, but they have not yet found any of the six missing crewmen of Tuesday's sunken cargo ship. (TNA)