Thailand’s navy says 31 sailors are missing after a warship carrying more than 100 crew capsized and sank during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand.
HTMAS Sukhothai sank on Sunday night after water filled its power controls.
Officials said on Monday they had rescued 75 crew members but 31 were still missing in rough seas.
“It’s been over 12 hours but we will continue to watch,” a Navy spokesman told JEE News.
Search crews worked through the night to search for survivors, and operations continued Monday, the Navy said.
He also announced an investigation into the cause of the disaster.
“This has almost never happened in the history of our force, especially for a ship that is still in active use,” spokesman Admiral Pog Krung Monthardpalan told JEE News.
Officials said the plane went down after taking on water, flooding its roof and short-circuiting its power room.
After the power went out, the crew struggled to maintain control of the ship which listed on its side before sinking around 23:30 local time Sunday (16:30 GMT).
The ship was on patrol just 32 kilometers (20 miles) west of Bang Suphan in Prachop Khare Khan province, when it was hit by a storm on Sunday.
Dramatic images posted by the Thai Navy’s Twitter account showed the ship listing on its starboard side, and backup rescue vessels trying to find survivors in choppy waters. are
Three navy ships and helicopters were sent to help, but only the HTMAS Kraburi reached the vessel before it sank.
The frigate picked up most of the sailors aboard the Sukhoi, the Navy said. Sailors with life jackets were found in the water in lifeboats.
The Navy has released few details about their condition. Local media published images showing medics taking off crew members on stretchers at the dock.
HTMS Sukhothai was built in the United States in the mid-1980s for the Thai Navy.
