An enormous warship heeled over on its side as terrified sailors dived into the ocean to escape the sinking vessel.
The Royal Thai Navy HTMS Sukhothai lost control and started sinking at 11.30pm on Sunday night.
The Navy said this morning that 31 sailors were still "in the water" and waiting to be rescued.
Terrifying video shows the vessel heeled over on its side and taking on water after an electrical problem led to engine failure in choppy seas in the Gulf of Thailand.
Sukhothai was on patrol 20 miles from the port of Bang Saphan, officials said, when it hit rough seas and started to take on water, leading to the problem with the electrics.
Crew members dressed in life jackets can be seen clinging to a railing in the footage, before the ship reportedly sank, leaving dozens in the water.
Three Navy ships were dispatched to rescue survivors, with 78 sailors and crew reportedly brought to safety.
Three frigates - HTMS Ang Thong HTMS Bhumibol HTMS Kraburi were dispatched along with two helicopters with mobile pumping machines in an effort to remove the water, but strong winds made the mission impossible.
But 28 are still waiting to be pulled out, according to reports - whether the stricken sailors are currently waiting in lifeboats or are in the sea is unclear.
Videos on social media appear to show search and rescue planes looking for the missing sailors and a tweet from the Navy said search planes had been scrambled.
“Still in search of 31 officers”, the post from 9.35am today (December 19) read. The Navy said it had “arranged reconnaissance aircraft” to search for the men meanwhile some of those already rescued were to be moved to Sirikit Hospital.
It was also announced that buses were being organised for the other rescued sailors “to move the uninjured troops back home to the battle fleet”.
Sukhothai was built in the US and had been in use since 1987.
Some social media users have criticised the Navy for putting such an old ship to sea in rough weather.
“As a former Navy [serviceman], I'm so shocked to understand that the ship is 35 years old,” one user said, adding: “Why don't you take good care of it?”
Thailand has been experiencing some extreme weather recently with storms and floods in the south of the country have led to warnings for ships to stay ashore in recent days.
In September, 14 passengers died and 63 were rescued after a passenger boat sank off the coast of a Brazilian island.
Emergency services managed to rescue 63 passengers after the vessel sank off the island of Cotijuba in the state of Para on the morning of September 8 but were unable to save 14.
According to witnesses, the incident started about two hours after the boat set sail from the island of Marajo at 6am, when water began to flood the engine.
The vessel was travelling between the town of Cachoeira do Arari on Marajo Island and the state capital Belem, and no passengers were reportedly wearing life jackets at the time.
The Belem City Council said the rescued passengers were taken to the Basic Health Unit (UBS) of Cotijuba, the Emergency Care Unit (UPA) of Icoaraci, and the Health Unit Marambaia.
