The incident occurred when the vessel carrying 14 Thai tourists sank near Koh Man Wichai, about 20km off the coast of Pattaya city in Chon Buri, after being hit by strong waves and high winds, reports the Bangkok Post.
Natthawut Sihamat, 28, said he and 13 family members had travelled from Bangkok and hired the fishing boat from skipper Suphat Juyaem, known as ‘Tai Lek’, to take them to Koh Man Wichai, a small island located 11km southwest of Koh Lan. They boarded the boat at Laem Bali Hai pier around 7am.
At about 9am, while the boat was heading out to sea, the skipper went below deck to fix the engine, saying the bilge pump was not working. As he was repairing it, strong waves and winds struck, causing the vessel to turn sideways against the waves. A powerful wave then hit the boat on the port side, causing it to list heavily and sink rapidly.
Mr Natthawut said he rushed to help everyone grab onto anything they could for survival as the vessel went down. They floated in the sea for more than seven hours.
Yongyut Decharasamee, another passenger, said that not all of the passengers had properly fitted life jackets, and some could not swim.
Four people, including a young girl, volunteered to swim to Koh Man Wichai to seek help, while the others including the skipper and two young boys continued holding on in open water until a rescue team arrived.
Mr Yongyut said he drifted in the sea for hours before managing to reach Koh Man Wichai, where he met up with the four who had gone there earlier.
According to the Chon Buri Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC), the alarm was first raised at 1.33pm through a marine rescue Line group and the emergency hotline 1465.
The Thai-MECC deployed patrol vessel 4008 to search the area, coordinating efforts with nearby boats in rough sea conditions.
Authorities urged all vessels in surrounding waters to immediately report sightings of survivors or floating objects to the 1465 hotline.
At 5.30pm, rescue units reported that all of the missing people, including the skipper, had been located and retrieved from the water. One person was found unresponsive but with vital signs. All were being transferred from inflatable rescue boats to shore.
Authorities also corrected earlier reports that the boat was carrying 13 people, saying there were 15 in all ‒ the skipper and 14 passengers. All of the survivors are safe. However, Mr Suphat was suffering the effects of severe water inhalation and lost consciousness before being rushed to hospital for treatment.
Officials said a full investigation was under way into the cause of the capsize and the boat’s safety equipment.