An oil tanker ran aground on the coast of Thailand’s southern province of Songkhla and a cargo ship capsized in the seas of Surat Thani province yesterday (Sunday).

Initial reports said that the captain and eight crew members of the cargo ship managed to escape from the sinking vessel in a life raft and were taken to Chaiya district hospital by the emergency services, who responded to the vessel’s SOS signal.

The report said that the 2,037-tonne oil tanker was not carrying any fuel as it was anchored near Samila Beach in Mueang district of Songkhla. The anchor chain broke, however, and the vessel was swept toward the shore by strong winds and rough seas until it ran aground.

The company which owns the oil tanker has asked for tug boats to tow the tanker back out to sea, but bad sea conditions have, so far, prevented the operation.

In Chaiya district of Surat Thani province, an SOS signal was received by a ground station from a cargo ship, Santhad Samut 2, which was carrying 36 containers of rubber timber and 10 crew. The vessel was heading for Laem Chabang in Chon Buri Province.

The ship later sank in the Gulf of Thailand, off Chaiya district. The cause of the vessel’s problem is not yet known.