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Fatal Sinking of the Dive Asia 1

Operator
Vessel
Date
Location
off Patong, between Kamala and Patong, Phuket, Thailand
Fatalities
6 (1 missing)

According to Phuketwan and dpa reporting carried by n-tv, the liveaboard Dive Asia 1, registered under the Thai name Choke Somboon and the flagship of Phuket operator Dive Asia, in service since October 2008, capsized around 11pm on 8 March 2009 in a sudden squall while returning to Phuket from a five-night Similan Islands trip, and sank off Patong with the wreck coming to rest at about 71 metres between Kamala and Patong. Of the 30 aboard, 19 tourists and 11 crew, 23 were rescued from two life rafts by a fishing boat the following morning. Six guests died: three Austrians, two Swiss and one Japanese, whose bodies were recovered by 13 March, some by technical divers from the wreck's cabins. The vessel's Thai cook, Jumpa Sorntat, was never found and is recorded here as missing.

Conditions that day

Wind
2 to 12 kn from 340°
Strongest gust
16 kn
Hour by hour (24 of 24 hours, UTC)
UTCWindGustFrom
00:003 kn6 kn340°
01:003 kn7 knN
02:003 kn8 kn20°
03:002 kn8 kn30°
04:002 kn8 kn350°
05:002 kn8 knNW
06:004 kn8 knNW
07:006 kn9 kn290°
08:009 kn13 kn280°
09:0011 kn14 kn290°
10:0011 kn15 knNW
11:0012 kn16 kn330°
12:0011 kn16 kn330°
13:0011 kn14 kn340°
14:0010 kn14 kn340°
15:005 kn13 knN
16:005 kn12 knN
17:006 kn12 knN
18:006 kn12 kn10°
19:007 kn10 kn20°
20:006 kn11 kn30°
21:005 kn11 kn60°
22:004 kn10 knNE
23:003 kn9 kn60°

ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, sampled 11 km from the recorded position. Modelled conditions across the whole day, not an observation at the vessel: a grid this coarse averages away the localised squall or wave a report may describe. Not a statement of cause.

Sources

n-tv (dpa)
Boot in Thailand gesunken: Europäerin tot geborgen·10 March 2009
Phuketwan
Storm Sinks Similans Dive Boat: Seven Missing·9 March 2009
Phuketwan
Boat Sinking Update: Five Bodies Recovered·13 March 2009