Thai authorities say boat death toll at 17

A woman sits at a pier as Thai fishermen move their boats at Ban Nam Khem, one of Thailand's worst-affected villages by the tsunami which struck the country's western Andaman Coast on December 26, 2004. (File Photo: AFP/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)

• The boat was carrying 90 passengers when it capsized
• Around 20 people are missing after a diving boat capsized in rough seas off the Thai tourist island of Phuket

BANGKOK: Thai authorities say the death toll in a boat accident off the coast of Phuket has climbed to 17.
The chief of the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said Friday afternoon that another 38 people were missing.
At least 10 of the dead where Chinese tourists.
Navy divers are scouring the wreckage of a boat that was carrying 105 people, including 93 tourists, 11 crew and one tour guide when it toppled in 5-meter (16-foot) -high seas Thursday.
The boat was carrying 90 passengers when it capsized "half of them were rescued, the operation is still ongoing," an official at the department, which is based in Bangkok told AFP, requesting not to be named.
The boat was returning to Phuket from Koh Racha.
Footage shared on Facebook showed officials at a pier gathering information as the rescue operation unfolded in darkness behind them.
It was not immediately clear if the passengers were tourists, but the area is a magnet for overseas visitors.
In a separate incident in the same area Thursday evening a yacht called the Senerita carrying 39 people also capsized, the official added.
An initial report said all of the passengers were pulled from the sea alive but the official who spoke to AFP could not provide any further information.
Thailand is already in the global spotlight for a dramatic rescue mission in the north of the country, after 12 boys and their football coach were trapped in a cave complex.