TRAT: Seven crew of a fishing boat that capsized in a storm were rescued on Wednesday after nine hours in a wave-tossed sea clinging to lifebuoys.
The Thailand Maritime Enforcement Command Centre Region 1 at Koh Kut received a call for help about 11.30pm on Tuesday. The small Thai-owned fishing boat Chokmanasnan 1 capsized in a storm off Koh Kut and its seven crew were washed into the sea, desperately clinging to lifebuoys and praying to be rescued.
A navy patrol boat, Tor 227, was sent from the pier in Khlong Yai district to search for the crew.
About 8am on Wednesday, the seven men, comprising the Thai captain and six Cambodians, were plucked from the sea to safety. They were taken ashore at Khlong Yai pier and taken to Khlong Yai Hospital for health checks.
All were exhausted after nine nerve-wracking hours overnight, adrift in a storm-tossed sea off this eastern coastal province.
Manop Luang-on, chief of the Trat Marine Office, said a warning had been issued for fishing boats of less than 10 gross tonnes to avoid going out to sea due to the stormy conditions. Larger boats could still go out, but were advised to follow weather reports.
Small passenger boats plying the islands and speed boats should stay ashore until at least today, he said.
Heavy rain in most of the country is expected to continue into today, with strong storm winds forecast to whip up waves in the upper Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.
The Meteorological Department said a strong monsoon trough lies across the North bleeding into a lower-pressure cell over the Northeast of Thailand. The strong southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Rain is forecast in all five regions.
Heavy to very heavy rain is expected in the North, the Northeast, the Central Plains including Bangkok and its vicinity, the East and the South.
The department said strong waves in the Andaman and the upper Gulf are likely to reach 2-4 metres in height and even higher in the event of thunderstorms.
