On the morning of July 6, Chinese Ambassador Lyu Jian had an emergency conversation by phone with Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, asking the Thai side to properly carry out search and rescue operation and attend to the injured.
Ambassador Lyu said that the Chinese government is highly concerned about the capsizing of the tourist boats in Phuket on July 5. What is imperative is to search for the missing. We ask the Thai side to mobilize all possible forces and waste no time in searching for the Chinese citizens that are still missing. We ask the Thai side to tend and make appropriate arrangements for the rescued Chinese tourists, treat and cure the injured and receive family members of the Chinese tourists involved. It is hoped that the Thai side will find out the cause of the incident as soon as possible and keep the Chinese side updated on the developments of the search and rescue operation. Ambassador Lyu also asked Deputy Prime Minister Somkid to direct relevant departments and personnel to stay in close cooperation with China so as to properly deal with this issue.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid said that the Thai government attaches great importance to this issue, and has already directed the Minister of Tourism and Sports, all the departments related and the local government to go all-out in searching for the missing, treating the injured and consoling their family members. They will cooperate and coordinate closely with the Chinese side.