China News Service, December 20th. On the evening of the 18th local time, the Thai Navy frigate "Sukhothai" sank in the waters near Prashu Province. 75 of the 106 sailors on board were rescued.
According to Agence France-Presse citing Thailand's Khao Sod English newspaper, Thai rescue helicopters found three more sailors alive on the morning of the 20th, and 28 sailors are still missing.
According to previous reports, in the middle of the night on the 18th, the "Sukhothai" of the Royal Thai Navy was patrolling the sea area where the incident occurred. Due to the impact of strong winds and huge waves, the hull tilted, and sea water entered the electrical system, causing the power to be shut down and the mechanical system to stop. The ship lost control and died. eventually sank.
After receiving the notification, the Thai Navy immediately dispatched two frigates, an amphibious ship and two "Sea Hawk" helicopters to rescue.
Of the 106 sailors on board, 75 were rescued, and another 31 sailors escaped in lifeboats and their whereabouts are unknown.
It is reported that the Thai helicopter search and rescue team continued to search in the Gulf of Thailand, hoping that the life jackets could help the navy survive two nights in rough seas.
"I hope to be able to find other survivors because they were wearing life jackets," the Thai navy officer said.
"But I think they must be exhausted."
At present, the search for the missing crew mainly relies on air searches, and the Royal Thai Air Force assisted in this search operation.
The commander of the Thai Navy also emphasized on the evening of the 19th that the military will focus on finding survivors. He said: "Our priority is to find and rescue more missing sailors." He added that this is the "first time" for the Thai Navy. In this case lose a warship.
According to Thailand's "Bangkok Post" report, the "Sukhothai" warship was built by the Tacoma Shipbuilding Company of the United States. It entered service in 1987 and has been in operation for nearly 36 years.