Thai media reports that 31 navy sailors have gone missing after a warship sank in stormy weather on Sunday, December 18.
The Royal Thai Navy corvette HTMS Sukhothai was underway in the Gulf of Thailand some 32 kilometres off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan province when it suffered water ingress that caused it to list more than 60 degrees to port in the late evening (local time) of Sunday.
The corvette later lost power after the onboard electrical system short-circuited due to flooding. The ship then went adrift and was soon tossed about by large waves.
The deteriorating weather prevented other responding navy vessels and helicopters from attempting to pump out some of the seawater from the corvette's compartments.
Sukhothai eventually sank, though 75 of the crew have been safely rescued.
Air and surface assets are continuing to search the surrounding area for any trace of the missing sailors.
Sukhothai was the second of only two Ratanakosin-class corvettes built in the 1980s for Thailand by Tacoma Boatbuilding Company of Tacoma, Washington. The corvette was commissioned into service on February 19, 1987.
