The bodies of five more victims of the Phoenix dive boat incident were found today in the sea off Phuket by rescue workers, raising the death toll to 38.

The boat capsized in  rough seas between Koh Heh and Koh Mai Thon islands on Thursday.   The bodies of one female and four males, two of them young boys, were recovered from the sea by a team of divers in the search and rescue operation. They were later transferred to navy boat HTMS Hua Hin.

Eighteen Phoenix boat passengers were still missing. Divers were continuing to scour the the wreckage of the boat, believing that some of them were still trapped inside.