PRACHUP KIRI KHAN: A Buddha sculpture and several documents were retrieved from the sunken HTMS Sukhothai on Saturday, the third day of the joint salvage operation with the United States' Navy.
R Adm Veerudom Muangjin, spokesman for the Royal Thai Navy, said on Sunday the items were discovered as a combined diving team inspected the area surrounding the main engine's hatch.
He added the diving team had planned to explore the captain's room and other cabins in four dives on the operation's third day.
The dive team had retrieved a Buddha statue from the sunken vessel, along with some documents at the bridge, which will be probed further, he said.
A photo of the Buddha statue was released the same day, showing the statue in good shape, he said.
A sitting Buddha image, among objects retrieved from the sunken HTMS 'Sukhothai' vessel on Sunday. Photos by the Royal Thai Navy
HTMS Sukhothai sank in the Gulf of Thailand on Dec 19, 2022. Out of the 105 people on board, 76 were rescued, 24 were found dead, and five remain missing.
The salvage operation by the US Navy's Ocean Valor, an offshore supply ship with 49 divers from Thailand and America on board, kicked off on Feb 22 as part of the US Navy's Cobra Gold joint military exercise. The discovery of the Buddha sculpture was considered significant following the retrieval of the sunken vessel's nameplate on Feb 23, the second day of the operation.
Commenting on Sunday's operation, R Adm Veerudom said it was to focus on surveying and photographing evidence around the vessel and bringing certain external equipment to the surface. The operation was divided into six dives.
Navy Chief Adm Adoong Pan-iam had ordered Vice Adm Prakob Suksamai, Navy Comptroller General, to return a 90 million-baht budget for the operation to the government to use as financial support for the public, said R Adm Veerudom.