Operation underway to retrieve last Phoenix victim
An operation is now underway to retrieve the body of a Chinese tourist, believed to be the last victim, stuck under the wreckage of Phoenix boat near Koh Heh in the sea off Phuket, according to the rescue command center.
Three boats — HTMS Thonglang, HTMS Hua Hin, and HTMS Panyee — departed from a boat pier in tambon Wichit in Phuket’s Muang district at 5.45 am, heading to where Phoenix dive boat sank on July 5.
On board, the three vessels were divers of the navy and rescuers of Guangzhou Salvage team from China and a charity foundation in Phuket.
There was light rain in the morning. Sea waves were 2-3 meters high.
Eighty-nine passengers were on board the Phoenix dive boat when it capsized and sank in stormy seas. Of them, 42 survived and 47 died.
Of the deaths, 46 bodies have been plucked from the sea. There is now only one body, stuck under the wreckage of the Phoenix boat, remaining to be retrieved.
