The Sintu Phuket 1 was laden with construction materials and a backhoe and en route to Koh Racha, about 25km south of Phuket, when it was overcome by heavy seas at about 3:50am.
The six crew were last reported as adrift on a raft of empty drums lashed together.
“We floated past Phi Phi, but were unable to swim to shore,” said an exhausted Nathee Klabjit, from Prachup Khiri Khan province.
Mr Nathee was rescued off Koh Lanta Noi at 6:30pm yesterday (July 8), reported Navy personnel stationed there, and was taken to Lanta Hospital to recover from exhaustion and minor scratches.
“The waves then pushed us to Koh Mha. Two people swam to the island, but then a big wave slammed us and the raft broke apart, and we started drifting in different directions,” Mr Nathee said.
“I held on to one drum, and was swept here to Koh Lanta.”
Two of Mr Nathee’s fellow crewmen were found alive off Koh Lanta at 5:30am today.
The Lanta District chief received a call from the village headman at Moo 2 in Tambon Saladan, saying that two Burmese had been rescued from the sea.
The two men – Burmese nationals named only as Ngiar, 21, and Lu-a, 20 – were found holding onto bamboo sticks while floating near rocks at Klongkhong Beach.
Both were taken to Lanta Hospital. Staff there confirmed to The Phuket News that both men were recovering well, but still had yet to fully recover from exhaustion.
Krabi police said they had checked with all hospitals in the area, but had not received any reports of other men being rescued or recovered from the sea.
The Thai Royal Navy and Marine Police are continuing their search, but have now expanded the search area to include the Krabi coast and have alerted all villages along the coast to keep a lookout for any survivors in the sea.
Additional reporting by Ekkapop Thongtub