BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- On the evening of the 5th, local time, two ships carrying 127 Chinese tourists were on their way back to Phuket, Thailand, and there was a sudden storm. As of now, this accident has caused dozens of deaths. According to US media, 33 of them are Chinese tourists.
According to the latest news from the Associated Press, as of the evening of the 6th Beijing time, the number of victims of boat trips in Phuket has increased to 33, all Chinese citizens, and 23 people are still missing. However, according to Thai media reports on the afternoon of the 6th, the number of people killed in the accident was 40.
It is understood that most of the Chinese tourists involved are free-line tourists who order products through online platforms, from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Liaoning, Henan and other provinces.
The official Weibo news of the Haining Municipal People's Government Press Office of Zhejiang Province said that the Chinese tourists in the distress included 37 employees and their families in a furniture company in Haining.
The overturning accident occurred in Phuket, southern Thailand. According to reports, southern Thailand is actually divided into two sea areas, the west side is the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean, and the east side is the Gulf of Thailand in the Pacific Ocean. The southern islands of Thailand are commonly known as two large blocks, one on the islands and the waterfront of the Indian Ocean, Phuket in this area, and the other in the Gulf of Thailand in the Pacific Ocean, such as Koh Samui and Koh Chang. The biggest difference between the two seas is that the winds and waves are reversed in the same season: from July to September each year, the winds and waves in the Andaman Sea area of Phuket are relatively large, while the sea area of the Gulf of Thailand in Koh Samui is relatively calm; December to the next year In January, the winds and waves in the Samui area were relatively large, while the winds and waves in the Phuket area were relatively small. The overturning accident was located in the Andaman Sea. Thai locals generally do not go sightseeing in the Andaman waters at this time, because it is very likely to encounter bad weather. On the 5th, two ships carrying Chinese tourists caught a huge storm at sea and instantly overturned. According to Yinnurapa, the government of Phuket, the waves in the sea of accidents were as high as 5 meters.
On July 6th, local time, near the sea area of Phuket, Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy’s Third District Command released photos showing a tourist ship sank in the sea.
On the 6th, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the party’s central government and the State Council attached great importance to this. The Central Committee and the State Council’s leaders, such as General Secretary Xi Jinping, made important instructions and instructions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the emergency response mechanism for the first time, and led the establishment of a joint working group of several ministries and commissions to rush to Thailand to assist in the work. The Chinese Embassy and Consulate in Thailand arrived in Phuket this morning for disposal. The Chinese Consulate General in Songkhla sent a staff to the hospital to visit the wounded, coordinate the hospital to help, and organized volunteer teachers and students to go to the hospitals to provide assistance. On the 6th, Lu Jian, the Chinese ambassador to Thailand, and the Thai Deputy Prime Minister, Qi Qi, called the Thai side to ask for proper work on the search and rescue of the Phuket boat dumping accident and the rescue of the injured. On the evening of the 5th, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China has launched an emergency response mechanism, requesting the tourism office in Thailand to understand the accident situation and fully cooperate with the embassy and consulate to do relevant work.
In Thailand, the Thai Embassy in China issued an announcement on the 6th of the cruise ship overturning accident. The announcement said that the Thai Embassy in China and the nine consulates of Thailand in China expressed their condolences to the relatives and friends of the tourists who lost their lives and were injured in the incident. The Embassy has opened a helpline on this matter so that the public can follow up on the information about the disaster-stricken tourists.
On the 6th, the search and rescue of tourists in distressed cruise ships continued. The mayor of Phuket, Thailand, said on the same day that the diver was preparing to scrutinize the sunken hull and also conduct an aerial search.
The Chinese Consulate General in Songkhla on the 6th reported that after coordination, the Thai Navy, Marine Police and Tourism Police and other relevant departments urgently dispatched several rescue vessels and helicopters to conduct joint maritime search and rescue, Maritime Safety Administration, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center, tourists. The assistance center and major hospitals are involved in the rescue work.
the official WeChat news from the Ministry of Transport of China stated that after the Phuket cruise ship dumping accident, the Ministry of Transport quickly assembled a professional rescue detachment (10 players) from the Guangzhou Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, which carried light diving equipment. It will arrive at the scene on the morning of the 7th.