Pattaya Ferry Sinks In Thailand, Six Killed; Captain Admits He Was High On Drugs

A ferry in Pattaya, Thailand sank, killing six people in Pattaya, Thailand on Sunday. The captain of the ferry admitted to police that he was high on drugs at the time of the ferry incident in Pattaya.

The ferry, named "Koh Lan Travel 1" was leaving Koh Lan, an island off Pattaya, when it capsized and sank, The Nation reports. Over 150 passengers were on board. Passengers were found swimming in the sea before the rescue team arrived.

Six tourists were killed and 26 were injured. Pattaya police said that among the dead are 2 Russians, a Chinese national and three Thais, The Nation reports.

Some passengers are still missing and Navy divers are currently searching for them.

According to UPI, the captain of the ferry that capsized off the coast of Pattaya confessed that he was high on drugs at the time of the incident, police said.

Ferry captain Saman Kwanmuang, 42, turned himself into police on Sunday and admitted to taking drugs before going to work, said Katcha Tatusatra, Chon Buri province police chief, UPI reports. Saman told police that the ferry wandered off course and hit some rocks, causing the vessel to capsize.

Saman said that he did not immediately alert passengers because he did not want to start a panic among those onboard.

However, passengers began to panic when the bottom deck of the two-deck ferry began to fill with water and there were not enough life jackets for everyone on board, Katcha said.

"The boat went down in minutes. I saw people -- some with life jackets, some without -- in the water. One man was holding on to a gas cylinder. There was a body face down in the water. They were all panicking, shouting for help," said a local dive guide who was one of the first on the scene, Yahoo! News reports via AFP.

At 9pm, it was reported that from 9 passengers sent to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, 3 were dead. Of 15 passengers sent to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, 3 were dead, according to The Nation.