Royal Thai Navy corvette 'Sukhothai' sinks in Gulf of Thailand after storm, 28 sailors still in the water

This was one of seven corvettes in the Royal Thai Navy.

Yen Zhi Yi | December 19, 2022, 01:02 PM

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On Dec. 18, the HTMS Sukhothai, a Ratanakosin-class corvette, was confirmed to have sunk in the Gulf of Thailand at 11:30pm local time, according to the official Twitter account of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN).

Over 70 sailors have been evacuated, while nearly 30 still remain in the water.

Stormy weather

According to an article by the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) News, the corvette had sunk due to a loss of power and flooding within the vessel, which had disabled its mechanisms and pumps.

The Standard reported that the corvette was patrolling an area of 20 miles from the port in Bang Saphan District Pier, central Thailand, before strong waves resulted in seawater entering the corvette’s electrical system through the exhaust pipe.

The RTN and the Royal Thai Armed Forces have released videos and photos of the incident via Twitter.

Rescue operations

RTH dispatched the frigates Kraburi and Bhumibol Adulyadej as well as landing platform dock Angthong to assist evacuation efforts, but only Kraburi was close enough to reach the corvette before it sank, according to USNI and RTN.

Two Thai Navy helicopters were also dispatched to the scene. The RTN reiterated that the safety of its crew were of utmost importance.

Initially, it stated that rescue operations were conducted overnight for the crew of 110 sailors.

Some sailors still awaiting rescue

However, it later updated at around 8:00am (Singapore time) that 78 of the 106 personnel had been rescued, while 28 remained in the water, with three of those in a critical condition.

As of time of writing, this is the latest update on the status of the sailors.

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Top images via Twitter/@prroyalthainavy & @ThaiArmedForce