Ayutthaya deputy governor Rewat Prasong said the confirmed death toll was 18, with 12 missing and 14 hospitalised.
Advertisement
Divers located a young boy’s body yesterday as they resumed the search for missing passengers after an overcrowded boat carrying Muslim pilgrims sank on the Chao Phraya River, leaving at least 18 dead.
Search teams yesterday (Sept 19) recovered seven bodies from the Chao Phraya, majority between two and five kilometres from the beached and partially sunken boat.
Some bodies were found in the partially overturned boat, while others had drifted downstream.
Officials said most of the passengers were Thai Muslims on a pilgrimage. The Chao Phraya is the main river through Bangkok and a busy commuting artery where boats often travel along at high speed.
Thai broadcasters showed desperate scenes of the aftermath of the accident as passengers were pulled from the water while rescuers attempted to resuscitate stricken people.
Mr Wirach, who denied steering the boat recklessly, said that as he prepared to overtake the sand barge, the boat lost balance and capsized, adding that the vessel was overloaded with passengers. The boat evidently ran up in shallows then took on water, sinking in less than two minutes just a few meters from the riverbank.
Wirat was arrested Monday and remains in custody, according to Col. Surapong Thampitak of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police.
The incident happened at around 4 p.m.
He was also charged with carrying more passengers than the boat was permitted to carry.
The department does not have a enough of staff to be deployed to ensure boat transport safety in all areas, he said.
Advertisement
Police said the would work with the Marine Department in investigating whether the boat had been operating legally, met safety requirements and carried sufficient life-saving equipment.
