10 missing as cargo ship capsizes off Thailand

Ten crew members from a Bangladeshi cargo ship were missing on Thursday after their vessel capsized in the Andaman Sea, sparking a rescue mission, the Thai navy said.

The ship, which was heading for Bangladesh's port of Chittagong, ran into trouble early Thursday in rough seas some 32 km off an island near Phuket in Thailand's south.

Eighteen of the crew were rescued from the ship by a navy helicopter, according to Thammawut Marlaisukarin, a captain in the Thai navy, but ten others were in a lifeboat "that drifted from the site" of the rescue.

The missing crew members had not been located after several hours of searching.

"We will resume rescue efforts by deploying helicopters to search for the lifeboat," Thammawut added.

"The ship capsized in rough seas -- there are five-metre (16 feet) high waves in the Andaman Sea near Phuket now," he said.

Phuket is Thailand's biggest island and one of its most popular tourist destinations.

 

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