Rescue teams believe missing British artist Millie Young is trapped inside the vessel she was on when it capsized off the coast of Thailand last week.
A helicopter and dozens of ships have spent days following ocean currents around the Surin Islands where the ship sank, but have not found anything to help in their search for Ms Young, who disappeared on December 23.
The ship’s cook Samniang Chaichana, 67, is also thought to have been trapped on board when the ship sank to a depth of 180ft while Ms Young was enjoying a dream adventure with friends.
Pichet Songtan, spokesman for Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC), said: ‘The rescue committee is working to find the sunken ship as quickly as possible. We believe that the missing people are trapped inside.’
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The Reggae Queen left Thap Lamu Pier on the mainland in the afternoon of December 22, carrying 13 tourists and five crew members.
Songtan explained how the ship was forced to stop en route as ‘the waves were so strong’.
Waves ‘more than three metres high’ slapped against the side of the ship, with too much being taken on for the waste water pump to remove. Crew woke the passengers and arranged life rafts for evacuation before the ship sank.
On Christmas Day, it was reported an inflatable life raft had been found, 20 nautical miles away from where the ship went down.
Millie Young, who vanished on December 23 after the ship she was on sank near Thailand
New: the discovery of the inflatable raft on December 25, two days after the ship sank
The Reggae Queen, which sank in choppy waters outside the Surin Islands on December 23
Navy chiefs said they will now use sonar to find the wreckage of the Reggae Queen, a large ship that took tourists on overnight diving trips around the idyllic tropical islands, some 37 miles from the mainland in Phang Nga province.
Songtan said that a ‘side-scan sonar’ had been requested from the navy’s battle fleet to find the co-ordinates where the ship sank.
‘The ship floated on the waves for more than three hours until another boat found it and rescued the group at around 9 am,’ Songtan said – meaning teams believe Ms Young was not successfully evacuated with her group.
Rescuers later found an empty raft believed to be from the Reggae Queen.
Rear Admiral Pongmit Narongkul, the Chief of Staff of the third Naval Region, said: ‘A navy patrol plane has been flying across the area to search for the two victims along with navy boats.
‘An inflatable life raft was found 20 nautical miles from where the ship sank but there was nobody inside.
‘The flight path search area has been expanded to the western area of the Surin Islands, with a radius of 15 nautical miles from the forecast point.
‘The missing people have not been found but the search is continuing.’
It is understood Ms Young had lived in Thailand since 2007, splitting her time between the beautiful southeast Asian kingdom and the UK.
She had recently met family members at the airport in Bangkok before travelling on their holiday to the beauty spot in the south, where clear water and diverse marine life are a big draw for snorkelling and diving trips.
The group booked five places on the Reggae Queen, departing on December 22.
Officials said a Mayday call was made shortly before 9am on December 23 as the ship was battered by waves on approach to the Surin Islands to the northwest of the mainland.
Footage showed the rescue of passengers and crew members, but only 16 of the 18 on board are reported to have made it safely off the boat.
12 rescued tourists and four of the crew were safely returned to the shore
Shocked holiday makers scrambled to safety but Ms Young is understood to have been dragged into the choppy sea along with Samniang, the chef onboard the vessel
Rescue operations continue northeast of Thailand as teams desperately search for the missing victims of the tragedy.
Navy chief Pichet Songtan said: ‘The rescue committee consists of 3rd Naval Area Command, Thai-MECC Region 3, and the Surin Islands National Park.
‘The mission plan consists of searching on the surface, on the beach, and from aircraft, and requesting cooperation from nearby vessels.
‘The missing persons are likely to be stuck inside the ship. We believe that they were unable to escape and were pushed down by the water.
‘We are still waiting for the correct latitude and longitude to be determined. When it is, deep sea scuba divers are ready to search further.’
Supoj Rodruang Na Nongkhai, the governor of Phang Nga province, said he had instructed all boats in the area to look out for the two missing people in the Andaman Sea region.
He said that rescue teams were searching in the direction of the sea currents, which are believed to have carried the missing pair in a northwest direction.
The governor added: ‘The missing person is a British woman and a Thai member of the crew. We are putting all of our resources into finding them.’
Sunee Panpeng, 43, the daughter of the missing cook, said her mother had worked on the trips for around four years, and would have three days at sea before returning to shore.
She added: ‘When I was told that the ship had sunk, I was immediately worried about my mother because she cannot swim.
‘We can only pray that she will be found. Now I am waiting for a miracle.’