Navy divers equipped with special diving gears will today scour the sunken Phoenix dive boat in a search for 23 passengers, most of them Chinese tourists, still missing.

The Phoenix dive boat capsized and sank near Koh Heh off Phuket on July 5, causing 56 people on board to go missing. Search teams have so far recovered 33 bodies while 23 are still missing.

Rear Admiral Charoenpol Kumrasi, deputy commander of the 3rd Naval Area, said two teams of divers will scour the sunken boat as it is believed that the missing passengers are still trapped inside.

An aerial search will also continue today. If a missing passenger is sighted at a spot, a radio message will be sent for a speed boat to be dispatched to the spot. Helicopters will also be flown along the coastline and around various islands while boats will also scour the sea off Phuket for the missing, he said.

The wreckage of the Phoenix dive boat will be salvaged after all the missing passengers have been found, Rear Admiral Charoenpol added.