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07th Jul 2018

38 confirmed dead and 18 missing from tourist boat hit by storm off the coast of Thailand

Rory Cashin

The incident happened near one of Thailand’s most popular tourist resorts.

Two separate boats carrying dozens of tourists capsized on Friday off the coast of popular Thailand tourist resort island Phuket when they were hit by waves over sixteen feet high.

One of the boats was carrying 42 people, all of whom were rescued, according to the New York Times.

The second boat was carrying 105 people in total, including 93 tourists, and so far there have been 38 confirmed deaths, and another 18 people are currently unaccounted for.

According to the Associated Press, divers who entered the wreck of the tour boat Friday described heart-breaking scenes of bodies of children found in the arms of their mothers.

Diver Philip Entremont told reporters before resuming search Saturday: “It’s very difficult to see … it’s traumatic, it’s tragic but the best thing to do, our job as divers, is to bring back the bodies to their families.”

Local authorities are expecting the death toll to continue to rise.

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