PHUKET, July 4 – A Bangladeshi cargo ship was caught in a storm and capsized in the Andaman Sea early today off this southern Thai island province, carrying away 10 crew members listed as missing.
Capt Thamawat Malaisookrin, director of the Third Naval Area Command’s Civil Affairs Division, said the freighter ‘MV Hope’ registered in Bangladesh sank in the Andaman Sea, 25 nautical miles south of Phuket’s Raya Noi Island.
The Third Naval Area Command then sent a boat to rescue the crew. Meanwhile, a nearby freighter, also from Bangladesh, rescued 19 crew members who were floating in the sea.
Another ten men are still missing, Capt Thamawat said, and the search was difficult, for waves were as high as 3-4 metres.
According to Capt Thamawat, the ship was sailing to Bangladesh and facing 3-metre waves which caused the accident. The vessel’s crew members had reported and asked for rescue to other ships in nearby locations and to a shipping communications network based in France.
