Search and rescue teams have found the bodies of two of the missing crew members of the Chokechai Somboon 1 trawler, which capsized in the gulf, and are still looking for two others.

Marne Department officials said today (Sunday) that the two bodies were found trapped inside the capsized vessel. Their bodies have been recovered and brought ashore for identification, before they are returned to their relatives.

The Chokechai Somboon 1 trawler carried nine crew, including the skipper. Before the vessel foundered on Saturday, about 30 kilometres from the shore of Cham-am district of Phetchaburi province, it broadcast a distress call, which alerted other vessels in the area and they rushed to their rescue.

Five of the crew were safely rescued from the sea, but four others went missing, prompting a search by the Marine Department and the Royal Thai Navy, which deployed a patrol boat and a helicopter to assist in the search.