The bodies of four crewmen from the container ship, the Patthara Marine 5, that sank off Samut Prakan province last month were found in the engine room after the ship was salvaged yesterday.
The sunken 'Phathara Marine 5' container ship was salvaged yesterday. The bodies of four dead crewmen were found in the engine room. Somchai Poomlard
The bodies retrieved were identified as chief engineer Tharadol Pangwiset, 27; executive officer Navin Suphanpayak, 62; helmsman Kukan Wangsuk, 38; and oiler Sompol Chaochiangkwang, 52.
The men went missing when the Patthara Marine 5, a 1,029-gross-tonne, 71-metre-long container vessel, went down in heavy seas on Sept 19 about eight nautical miles off Samut Prakan.
The ship, carrying canned food and consumer products, was en route to Malaysia when it sank in seas churned up by tropical depression Vamco, spilling shipping containers into the sea.
Captain Pathom Napasako and a passenger were rescued.
Navy patrol ships, helicopters and divers searched for a week for the missing crewmen.
Fifteen divers searched the ship on Sept 27, but did not locate the bodies as the kitchen and engine room were inaccessible at the time.
The navy called off the search, while salvage operations set to start on Sept 28 were delayed by bad weather and strong currents.
The operation, which began yesterday at 10am, involved a heavy-duty crane barge, three tugboats, pontoons from private companies, and patrol boats and a Seahawk helicopter from the Marine Department and the 1st Naval Area Command.
The ship was towed to a port in Muang district of Samut Prakan in the late afternoon, where officials searched for the missing crewmen's bodies. They were finally located in the engine compartment.
Officials will inspect the vessel and expect to determine the reason why the ship capsized and sank next week.
Nat Jabjai, deputy director-general of the Marine Department, said all four bodies had life vests on.
The department will work with the company that owns the sunken ship regarding payment of initial financial compensation of 50,000 baht each to the families of the dead crew members, Mr Nat said.