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MV Dive Asia 1 Accident
finsonline.com -
You may or may not have heard about the sinking of MV Dive Asia 1 a few days ago. This is the liveaboard boat based in Phuket that we were on recently. We featured this trip in our first few FiNS TV clips.
Given that we're in Lembeh, it's taken some time to get accurate information. We felt that it was best to refrain from posting anything about this boating accident until we had something worthwhile to post.
Below is a statement direct from the owners of the boat. Clearly, this is a tragic turn of events, and our heartfelt sympathy and support go out to all concerned.
For obvious reasons, we will discontinue our FiNS TV posts relating to MV Dive Asia 1.
From Juergen, Benno and the entire Dive Asia Team
With a sad heart we read all the wrong information about the sinking of the MV Dive Asia I in the media and in the internet. Even here in Phuket we hear a lot of speculation that is untrue, and we would like to take this opportunity to give you the facts as of today.
On the 8th of March at about 5:30PM the MV Dive Asia departed from the Similan Islands in perfect weather conditions for a routine return to Phuket. Great visibility, very light winds with no noticeable waves.
10:26PM: A guest sent an SMS to her family telling them that she was already on the way back to Phuket, where she would disembark in the morning, and that the weather had been perfect with no rain during the entire trip.
10:50PM: After entering a sudden thunderstorm, the boat was hit by a vortex and capsized. There were no high waves. The wind was why the boat capsized. This happened so quickly and without warning that not even an alarm could be sounded. On board were 30 people:
8 Thai Crew
3 Dive Guides
19 Guests of various nationalities
The boat sank within one minute, but 23 of the 30 people on board were able to leave the sinking ship. The two life rafts on board deployed, and after a while, all 23 people were able to get on the life rafts.
The survivors searched for the missing people, but could not find anybody. After about 45 minutes the sea was calm again, and the life rafts drifted. Two sailing boats passed close to the life rafts, but did not respond to the red signal flares fired.
March 9th 8:00AM
Benno Brandon arrived at Chalong Pier in order to meet the boat and greet the guests, and also to have breakfast with them before they disembarked. Arriving at the end of the pier, he saw that the boat was not there.
After calling all the boat’s numbers and trying to contact the boat by radio, he contacted his partner Juergen Schenker to check if there was any information about why the boat arrival back to port was delayed.
Realizing that something was wrong, we notified the authorities through our Thai Manager Ms. Wimonrat Bangthao at around 8:30AM. We then started our own search for the boat by speed boat and also from land from the top of a nearby mountain.
Our last contact with the boat had been around 10:00PM, and the boat had been between the airport and Patong beach at the time. The authorities started a search also, but with no result.
March 9th around 1:00PM
The Dive Asia office received a call from tour leader Daniel Brunner, who is one of the survivors. He called from a fisherman's mobile phone to inform us of his location, and that 23 survivors had been picked up by a local fisherman. We notified the authorities, and a Thai Marine Police boat went to pick up the survivors.
The 23 people arrived at 4:30PM in the deep seaport in Ao Makham. They were exhausted, dehydrated and sunburned, with minor scraps and cuts, but none of the survivors had major injuries.
Missing at the time were:
1 Thai National (our cook)
1 Japanese (Guest)
3 Austrians (Guest)
2 Swiss (Guest)
It was wrongly reported that some of the missing guests were German.
March 10th
The search for the missing 7 people continued. The body of one person was found and returned to Ao Makham.
The approximate location where the boat sunk was pinpointed near Patong Beach. A dive team from Deep Blue checked the location and found debris confirming that the wreck was close, but did not locate the wreck itself. The depth is in the area is around 70 meters. Later that night, the Thai Navy identified two possible locations and wrongly assumed that the wreck was broken in half.
March 11th
The search for the still missing six persons continued. Joerg and Andreas from Deep Blue and Ben from the SSS chamber made a dive to confirm the location of the wreck, as well as to check the wreck to determine how many guests might still remain on board.
They found four people still in their cabins, but due to the depth of the wreck and time restraints, recovery was not possible at the time.
The search for the still missing two people continued. The missing were our Thai cook and a guest from Japan.
March 12th
A dive team consisting of Joerg and Andres from Deep Blue, Ben from the SSS Chamber and Mathew from Pro Tech Diving college made a dive and recovered the four people found the day before, and also search the boat further for the two still missing people. They found the Japanese guest and returned to the surface. The Thai Marine Police returned the remains to Ao Makam.
The search for our missing cook continued.
March 13th
The dive team made a further search of the boat and the surrounding waters, but were unable to locate our missing cook. Personal effects of the people on board were recovered. While the dive team was still in decompression, we were informed that a search helicopter spotted a body in the water 22 miles south of the wreck location. A police boat was dispatched. In the evening we were informed that the recovered body was our missing cook.
Everyone on board was accounted for. We are very sad and distraught over this tragedy. Our hearts are with the families of the deceased, and we grieve with them.
Many of you expressed your support for us, and we are very thankful for this. It is heartwarming to have Mona come by our office with big bag of sandwiches because you don’t have time to eat, or to hear that Rene from Sea Fun Divers had been filling 50% oxygen bottles for Ben in the dive team free of charge. Also others like Franz of Blue Dolphin deserve our special thanks for organizing and conducting their own search for the missing.
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