14 DAY TRIAL // Seven tourists have been killed in Thailand, as a crowded ferry overturned, sending passengers holding on for their lives. About 100 people have been wounded and some are in critical condition.
The ferry sank near the beach resort city of Pattaya, with about two hundred people on board. The owners of the double-decker ferry had a license, but it only allowed for the transportation of 150 people at any given time.
The vessel is about 12 meters long, and it is not properly equipped to help all the passengers in a crisis.
“Witnesses said there were neither enough tubes nor life vests on the ferry. Some of those who cannot swim had to cling onto coolers or ice containers until rescuers came,” Colonel Suwan Cheawnavinthavat says, as reported by Daily Mail.
Russia Today writes that at least three passengers dying in the wreck are Russian natives, citing official sources.
Andrey Dvornikov, head of the consular department of the Russian embassy in Thailand, has confirmed the news.
A man and a woman from China also perished in the accident. The other casualties are believed to be Thai citizens.
“Unfortunately there were casualties. We dragged out two Chinese people, a man and a woman in their 30s or 40s. We started CPR, but unsuccessfully,” witness Aleksandr recalls.
Other ferries approached and rescued some of the people going overboard.
“Here is what I saw: Waves, a three-decker vessel, and a few smaller boats…It all remained me of the scene from Titanic – people in life jackets and without, floating stuff.
“We quickly let down the ladder into the water. People began to swim up and we were catching them and taking them to the lower deck,” Aleksandr adds.
About 15 people were rescued by the ferry he was on. Passengers on other ferries also helped with the rescue effort.
“We were on the next ferry, accidentally; we simply were late on that one. It was indeed full of people.
“This was really terrifying! Shoes, stuff floating around. My husband and other people rescued one woman. She was the last one remaining in the water,” witness Olga Blinova describes.