Skipper of chartered fishing vessel found unconscious but alive
PUBLISHED : 21 Nov 2025 at 20:41
All 12 passengers were rescued after a chartered fishing boat capsized off the coast of Pattaya on Friday, with the skipper found unconscious but alive and brought ashore for emergency treatment.
The incident occurred when the vessel carrying 12 Thai tourists sank near Koh Man Wichai, about 20 kilometres off the coast of Pattaya city in Chon Buri, after being hit by strong waves and high winds.
Four passengers, including a young girl, managed to swim to a nearby island, while eight others — among them two boys — were left stranded at sea for several hours.
At 5.30pm, rescue units reported that nine missing people, including the skipper, had been located and retrieved from the water. One person was found unresponsive but with vital signs. All were being transferred from inflatable rescue boats to shore.
According to the Chon Buri Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC), the alarm was first raised at 1.33pm through a a marine rescue Line group and the emergency hotline 1465.
Passenger Yongyut Decharasamee, who made the emergency call, said he and 11 friends had rented the boat captained by a man known as “Tai Lek Pattaya”. It departed Laem Bali Hai pier at 7am.
As the boat passed Koh Lan, it encountered high waves and strong winds. At the same time, the vessel’s bilge pump malfunctioned, causing it to rapidly take on water before it started sinking around 9am.
Not all of the passengers had properly fitted life jackets, and some could not swim, according to Mr Yongyut.
He said he drifted in the sea for about seven hours before managing to reach an unidentified island. He later learned that four people, including a young girl, had also made it onto the island, while eight others — including two young boys — remained adrift awaiting rescue.
The Thai-MECC deployed patrol vessel 4008 to search the area, coordinating efforts with nearby boats due to rough sea conditions.
Authorities urged all vessels in surrounding waters to immediately report sightings of survivors or floating objects to the 1465 hotline.
Officials said the situation was now under control, with all victims accounted for, while a full investigation is under way into the cause of the capsize and the boat’s safety equipment.