Six persons remain missing in Phuket boat capsize

PHUKET, July 9 (TNA) – Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha this morning went to resort island of Phuket to follow up the search mission to find the missing persons in the tourist boat tragedy while the number of the missing ones has been dropped to six. The search continues on the fourth day today. During his trip to Phuket, Gen Prayut met Lyu Jian, Chinese ambassador to Thailand at the command center of the operation. He also visited the injured victims at Vachira Phuket Hospital and went the temple, where the bodies are kept. Meanwhile, Phuket governor adjusted the passenger number of the ill-fated ‘Phoenix' dive boat to 89 persons, down from 105 persons, reported earlier after confirmation from the immigration checkpoint and the Chinese Consulate. The unofficial death toll rose to 44. Apart from the boat captain, provincial police pressed charges against the manager of the boat company, who is a Chinese man. About 63 million baht in compensation was approved for the foreign tourists in the boat accident. Each family of the dead victims will receive one million baht, said Pongpanu Svetarundra, Permanent Secretary of Ministry Of Tourism and Sports. (TNA)