Three die in ferry accident near Samut Prakan

A ferry overloaded with passengers in Pak Nam, in Samut Prakan province in Central Thailand sunk on Sunday afternoon, killing three people.

The ferry had a maximum load capacity of 15 passengers, however a total of 37 people were on board at the time of the accident. The boat hit a submerged telegraph pole and sunk at a location just 37 miles from Bangkok.

Local police reported that three missing passengers from the ferry were eventually found dead. All other passengers were rescued from the waters and provided with first aid and medical assistance, as required.

One of the drowned victims was an Indonesian woman. The identity of the other victims has not yet been released to the press.

Many of those on the boat were Thai students from Chulalongkorn University but rescue crews also saved Japanese, Bangladeshi and Indonesians from the waters following the accident.

"The captain tried to take the boat to the shore but the water leaked into the boat too quick, so it capsized before the boat reached the shore," said police official Lieutenant Colonel Somchai Suvanapot.