The bodies of two South Korean tourists were found underwater Tuesday evening near where their tourist boat rammed a trawler near Phuket two days earlier.
Search officials find the bodies of South Korean tourists at the site of a boat collision near Koh Yao island of Phangnga province Tuesday evening. (Photo by Achadtaya Chuenniran)
Pol Lt Col Chatchai Sakdee, a marine police inspector in Phuket province, said Tuesday that the bodies of Min-woo Go, 31, and Sun-yang Am, 28, were found pinned under part of the sunken wreck of their speedboat between before 5pm.
The boat collided with a trawler during its return trip to Phuket from the Phi Phi islands Sunday evening. The crash occurred about five nautical miles from Koh Yao island of Phangnga province. The search took place over a radius of about five nautical miles, but the bodies were finally spotted under the speedboat wreck.
On Tuesday, marine police patrol boats, the Marine Department and the Department of Fisheries all were deployed to facilitate the search, which is taking place over a radius of about five nautical miles from the accident scene near Musang Rock, which lies about five miles from Koh Yao in Phangnga province. Officials also surveyed nearby coasts.
The two ill-fated South Korean tourists were identified as Yuwin Wo, 31, and An San Yong, 28. They were among 37 passengers on the Sea Star 29 speedboat. It was reported that the two were on the bow of the boat and were not wearing a life jacket.
Speedboat driver Surat Mat-osot, 36, was charged with recklessness. He reportedly told police he had ducked to pick an object while driving the boat from the Phi Phi islands towards Phuket province.
When he stood up, he saw his boat was about to collide with a trawler. So, he swerved but still hit a trawling line. The two South Koreans fell into the sea upon impact, which breached the hull and sank the speedboat in about 30 minutes. Twenty tourists were injured in the incident that happened at about 5.30pm Sunday.
Relatives of the missing tourists arrived in Phuket to monitor progress in the search.