Thai authorities retrieve tourist boat involved in fatal sinking

Thai authorities raised on the afternoon of November 17 the wreck of a pleasure boat that sank in the waters off Phuket on July 5, 2018, killing 47 out of 101 people on board.

The sunken Phoenix was retrieved from a depth of 45 metres by a heavy lift crane vessel hired from a Singapore-based salvage company.

The once-white vessel was covered entirely in brown algae and sludge as it was brought out of the water. It has since been towed to Phuket where it is being examined by Royal Thai Police investigators.

The raising of Phoenix is part of an ongoing joint Thai-Chinese probe into the cause of the tragedy.

Initial reports state that Phoenix’s master ignored a bad weather warning just prior to sailing on the day the vessel was lost.

The vessel’s owner, the master, one operator, and two other people have each been charged with negligence resulting in death of another person, which has a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

All of the dead passengers were Chinese tourists, hence China’s participation in the probe.


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