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Thailand’s Navy Searches for 2 Missing Passengers of Dive Boat
Two men, a Thai cook and a British tourist, are still missing following Saturday’s sinking of a dive boat in Southern Thailand. The Royal Thai Navy has established a search and rescue centre to locate them.
Located in the Andaman Sea, some 55 kilometres off the mainland, the island is one of five that make up the Surin Islands National Park.
In his capacity as director of the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC), 3rd Naval Area Vicar Admiral Suchart Thampitakvej has given the order to establish a rescue centre at the 3rd Naval Area headquarters in Laem Panwa, tambon Wichit, Muang district, Phuket.
At 7.45 in the morning, the centre sent out the Tor 995 patrol boat to look for the missing soldiers in the area northwest of the Reggae Queen crash site.
A navy security unit searched the area surrounding Surin Islands National Park, and at 9 a.m., a reconnaissance plane departed from its operational base to assist the Tor 995 patrol boat in the search.
Sixteen of the eighteen people on board were rescued and brought to the adjacent Khura Buri Pier after the scuba-diving tour boat went down. Nevertheless, a British tourist and the boat’s cook remained unaccounted for.
According to authorities, the dive boat sinking occurred just outside the Surin islands, about four nautical miles from the mainland. The boat left Tap Lamung Port with 18 persons on board for the expedition.
The fishing boat Porn Supranee 9 assisted 16 passengers to safety after responding to the vessel’s distress call. However, two passengers, one Thai native and the other a British tourist, went missing.
Due to the growing popularity of scuba diving in Thailand, the issue of dive boat sinking has received a lot of attention.
The regrettable incident has prompted questions about diving industry safety procedures and regulations. To protect the safety of divers and crew members, it is critical to investigate the reasons, consequences, and preventive measures related with dive boat sinking.
Several causes, including poor vessel maintenance, neglect in following safety measures, and unpredictable weather conditions, may have led to the boats sinking.
Furthermore, human mistake and a lack of sufficient training for crew members might increase the likelihood of such events.
Stakeholders may cooperate to create a safer and more sustainable workplace for divers and crew members by addressing the core causes of these accidents and prioritizing safety standards.
To reduce the danger of dive boat sinking, industry authorities, diving operators, and hobbyists must work together to develop a culture of safety and accountability.
