PHUKET: The body of a missing barge captain who disappeared off Phuket was found today floating off Trang province, south of Phuket.

Days ago the heavily tattooed captain called his wife to tell her the barge was sinking and he and the five crew were trying to strap together a makeshift raft to try to stay alive.

Four of the crew made it back to land but the captain did not. Just one Burmese sailor is missing, but his chances of survival are slim as the sinking took place early on Tuesday, as the barge carried construction material to Koh Racha from Phuket.

In a remarkable day of sinkings and rescues that followed, the Royal Thai Navy and Marine Police plucked the crew of 10 from a cargo vessel that ran ashore on rocks close to Phuket and six crew from a trawler were pulled out of the water after their fishing trawler sank off Koh Racha.

The Royal Thai Navy and the Marine Police won praise for rescuing 20 of the missing crews with the captain the only certain death so far, although the Burmese crewman seems unlikely to be found alive.

Both organisations have an exemplary record and are likely to continue to be cited as good examples of the way Phuket authorities can cope in severe monsoon storms.