PHUKET: Rough seas and high winds forced the suspension on Monday afternoon of the search for more bodies from the tour boat that sank off the coast of Phuket on Thursday.
Lt Cdr Sawapas Sathitsathian, commander of HTMS Hua Hin, said HTMS Chao Phraya surveyed the sea off Phuket and reported conditions were not suitable to continue the search for the missing tourists.
"When the weather improves, the operation will resume to find the missing and dead people," he said.
"The search plan remains in place for divers to use blowers to clear sand from under the sunken boat Phoenix, where a body is trapped, and a way will be found to change the upright orientation of the sunken vessel to allow a thorough examination."
The Phoenix capsized and sank in high seas with 89 tourists on board, 87 of them Chinese, last Thursday. Searchers have found 42 bodies. The number of passengers was previously given as 105, but has been revised by officials.