What happened on the Phoenix that sank in Phuket?

It only took an hour or two for the Phoenix to return to its final sinking, but for the passengers on the ship, the fear and despair felt like centuries.

The cruise ship was carrying 105 people, including 93 tourists, mostly Chinese tourists. What exactly happened on the Phoenix during this period? Yangzi Evening News reporters tried to restore the situation in the cabin of the Phoenix when it was in distress based on the situation interviewed and the information currently disclosed by the media.

The wind and rain quickly intensified when the return flight began

After completing the itinerary on July 5 and waiting for the return flight, there were already signs of the storm. According to the memory of the tourist Mr. Lin, " While I was queuing, the clouds were coming." The tourist Mr. Huang later asked, "Why did they set off even though they knew the weather was bad?"

But at the time, the tourists on the luxury ship probably did not expect that they would encounter them later. everything.

After setting sail, the wind and rain quickly became stronger, which lasted about five minutes.

Perhaps they were too frightened, especially the amplified fear when they were in danger. Many passengers described the wind and waves differently. Some said it was five or six meters, some said eight or nine meters, and Mr. Lin In an interview, she said, "That wave is as high as a building!"

At this time, a female reporter from Shanghai and her family were returning to Phuket on another cruise ship, "Cape No. 7" , the feelings she wrote after landing were immersive - "To make matters worse, the violent wind also joined in, rolling up waves several stories high, like thousands of beasts, rushing into the cabin, one at a time It poured into our ears, mouths, and eyes again, and it wanted to tear our ship apart.”

An hour later, the open second floor of the Phoenix was already covered with water, and it got worse. Unfortunately, the hull began to tilt significantly to one side.

A honeymoon couple became survivors

Zheng Lanqing, 57, from Jinhua, Zhejiang, had a family of five on the Phoenix cruise ship, but he was the only survivor among the five. Zheng Lanqing's wife, daughter, son-in-law and 18-month-old granddaughter were all killed in the capsizing accident.

Among the 37 employees and family members of Haining Haipai Furniture Co., Ltd., 18 were missing after the shipwreck.

Compared with the broken families behind the sinking, although their honeymoon trip to Phuket suffered from this accident, Mr. Wu and Ms. Long were lucky and they successfully escaped from this disaster.

In Phuket, the Phoenix is ??a higher-end cruise ship with a four-story hull containing various leisure and entertainment facilities. There are sofas and a KTV on the second floor of the ship. Mr. Wu was here when the incident occurred. When the ship's hull tilted severely, he desperately grabbed the guardrail beside him. Mr. Wu noticed that there were some mothers holding their children beside him, and they looked very scared.

Mr. Lin also felt helpless. He said, "In the middle of the sea, there is no way at all." The tour guide asked everyone to put on their life jackets and hurry up. He heard someone screaming and crying next to him.

Ms. Long’s situation at this time is much more dangerous than Mr. Long’s.

Ms. Long was not with her husband when the incident occurred, but was at the bottom of the cruise ship. She described, "Almost instantly, a large amount of seawater poured into the bottom of the cabin."

Some people stayed in the bottom cabin

Just two minutes ago, at about 5:23 pm local time, a diving instructor on the Phoenix sent his girlfriend A few videos from the ship.

In the video, huge waves hit the glass in front of the cruise ship's bridge one after another. The waves splashed all over the glass, and it was obvious that the ship's hull tilted severely to the right.

After posting the video, the diving instructor jumped into the water to untie the life raft and helped some passengers board the life raft. He also allegedly rescued two children on board the Phoenix. Dozens of people boarded the life raft.

According to Mr. Huang’s recollection, before the life raft was released, someone had jumped or fallen into the sea.

Ms. Long recalled that because the ship was tilted severely at the time, not many people got out from the bottom. When she was halfway out, the boat had tilted into the sea. The window glass was instantly broken by the sea water, and some people were washed away by the sea water. Fortunately, Ms. Long was rushed out through the door and floated quickly because she was wearing a life jacket. But she said many people remained in the cabin.

When Mr. Lin surfaced, he found that the boat had stood upright. In the last moments before the ship sank, he saw a friend hanging on to the railing.

Mr. Lin said that he felt like he had been floating in the sea for a long time. The rain hit him very coldly, and he felt like his whole body was shaking.

In the end, the Phoenix sank vertically into the sea near the coral island south of Phuket, stern first and then bow.

The last image of the Phoenix before it sank was exposed

A person in charge of a local cruise company, Mr. Hua, told a reporter from the Yangtze Evening News that when local captains encounter strong winds and waves, they usually try to stay in one line. on the route. Once something happens, other ships can come to the rescue in time.

Another cruise ship not far away captured the last video footage of the Phoenix before it sank. The video shows that in the huge waves, the stern of the Phoenix has submerged into the sea, while the bow of the ship is raised high.

The crew of the cruise ship rescued more than 20 Chinese tourists on the Phoenix with ropes.

Subsequently, the rescue was launched in full swing...

Source: Yangzi Evening News Network