Five rescued from sinking dive tour boat off Phuket, Thailand

Authorities in Thailand have rescued five people from a dive tour boat after it suffered water ingress while off the resort island of Phuket on Wednesday, July 9.

The Phuket Tourist Assistance Centre received an emergency report at around 16:50 local time on Wednesday saying that the dive boat Poseidon was in danger of sinking in the waters between Koh Yao and Koh Kiew.

A patrol boat later arrived in the area and the crew safely evacuated the five foreign nationals who were on the dive boat. The rescued passengers had suffered no injuries and were subsequently brought to shore.

Another vessel diverted to the area and assisted the patrol boat in towing the dive boat to port.

Local news outlet The Nation Thailand reported that the patrol boat's crew had also worked to cover up the leak on Poseidon to prevent the latter vessel from becoming flooded even further as it was towed to shore.