Last Tuesday, the Royal Thai Navy Air and Coastal Defense Command received a distress signal from a ship off the coast of Thailand, near the island of Koh Adang.
The old wooden fishing vessel was on fire and beginning to sink.
By the time they got there, the ship was ablaze and the eight man crew had taken to the water, and picked-up by a passing fishing vessel.
A group of sailors, looking for possible oil spills from the now sinking ship, spotted on the bow, on a crane structure that had yet to go under, four important crewman that had been left behind.
“I used my camera to zoom in to the boat, and I saw one or two cats popping their heads out,” explained First-Class Petty Officer Wichit Pukdeelon of the navy’s air and coastal defense division.
The ship was sinking fast, and 23 year-old Thatsaphon Saii, of Operation Unit 491 jumped into action.
He took off his shirt and donned a life jacket, and with his long pants still on, jumped into the sea and swam the 50 yards over to the cats….who appeared to be anxiously waiting for him.
And one by one, he put them on his shoulders and swam back to his ship.
All four seemed to know exactly what was happening, and remained amazingly calm throughout.
“When we arrived it was to secure the wreckage and check for oil spills. But we noticed the cats onboard.
I immediately took off my shirt and put on a life jacket so I could jump into the sea. The flames were at the back of the boat but it was starting to sink, so I knew I had to be quick.”
Before he was back unto his ship with the last cat…..
….this…..
From seattle times...
Once back at the navy’s official command post, the cats were wiped down and dried off with towels and fed by their rescuers, who cradled them, played with them and posed for photographs alongside their new furry friends, who now have a very global fan base.
The four cats are now residents of the command post on the island of Koh Lipe….the home of their rescuers.
And may i speak for all of us when we express ourselves thusly, at such grooviness…