Five dead after boat capsizes in reservoir in northern Thailand

Five dead after boat capsizes in reservoir in northern Thailand

Five people drowned after a ferry hit a submerged tree trunk and capsized in a reservoir in northern Thailand.

The vessel was carrying ten passengers and the captain across the vast expanse of water at the Sirikit dam in Uttaradit province on Monday (January 20) morning.

But mid-way through the journey - with none of those onboard wearing life jackets - the small wooden ferry hit a tree stump, which was closer to the surface following weeks of severe drought.

The boat capsized and rescuers from Uttaradit Songkroh Foundation immediately began a search and rescue mission.

One person was found dead, while the bodies of another four were later recovered.

The captain of the boat was among those killed.

Police Major Prasert Sithilert, from the Tha Pla district police station, said the boat left the village shortly after 9am with 10 passengers and the boat's owner-operator on board.

The boat was also carrying agricultural goods.

The police chief said the first drowned passenger Sunitra Noikhan, 25, was found shortly after the accident.

Rescuers continued the search throughout the afternoon and in the evening found the three missing passengers Chan Noikhan, 71, Sanit Noikhan, 57, and Preeda Apiya, 42, and the captain Prarean Apiya, 50.

The region's harbor department director, Atiruj Chumrun, blamed the drought for causing the accident.

He said: "We ran an initial investigation on the incident and suspect that the reason behind this terrible accident was because of the decreasing water level.

"The captain is likely to have been confused and following an unsafe course across the dam, due to the low level of the water.

"We found that the boat was equipped with the safety equipment but the registration was expired."