Relatives of Chinese tourists missing since a Thai tour boat sank near the holiday island of Phuket were desperate on Sunday for news of their loved ones.
PHUKET/BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) — Relatives of Chinese tourists missing since a Thai tour boat sank near the holiday island of Phuket were desperate on Sunday for news of their loved ones.
Rescuers were preparing to lift the sunken Phoenix which went down in bad weather on Thursday with 105 people on board, including 93 Chinese tourists and 12 Thai crew, one of Thailand’s worst accidents in recent history.
Authorities have confirmed 41 deaths and said 15 people remained missing. Divers, including 17 from China, planned to retrieve a body from the sunken vessel on Sunday.
Aircraft and rescue ships extended the search area from Phuket to the island of Phi Phi and Phang Nga province. Teams were also searching the coastline on foot, officials said.
Li Ming, who had five family members on board including two seven-year-old nieces, said he and a cousin flew to Phuket from China’s eastern Jiangsu province on Saturday after losing contact with their relatives.
Li said his two nieces died in the accident and three adult family members were still missing.
“There are so many family members back home waiting on our updates,” he said.
