Bodies of children found in their mother's arms after Thai boat sinks during storm

The bodies of children have been found in the arms of their mothers after a boat sank near Phuket, in Thailand.

Divers were greeted with the heartbreaking scenes after entering the wreck of a tourist boat that sank during a storm.

“It’s very difficult to see … it’s traumatic, it’s tragic but the best thing to do, our job as divers, is to bring back the bodies to their families,” diver Philip Entremont told reporters.

The death toll has climbed to 38, making it Thailand’s biggest tourist-related disaster in years.

It was not clear how many of the dead and missing were Chinese. The previous announced death toll was 33, with authorities saying all were Chinese.

The boat, with 105 people including 93 tourists on board, capsized and sank after it was hit by 16ft waves.

The death toll jumped after the navy sent divers to the wreck. In images shortly after the sinking, rescued people sat in large rubber liferafts surrounded by churning seas.

Phuket governor Norraphat Plodthong announced at a news conference on Saturday that the death toll had climbed further, to 38, with 18 missing.

Prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, leader of Thailand’s military government, expressed his “sympathies and deepest condolences” to the families of the dead.

The government will “exert all efforts to find those still missing and provide support to all survivors of this tragic event”, he said in a statement.

Reports in Thai media said police have charged the owner and captain of the stricken ship with carelessness causing death and injury.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out search and rescue efforts, telling the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese diplomats in Thailand to take greater measures, and also urging Thai authorities to spare no efforts.

Fatal accidents among foreign tourists at Thai beaches are not unusual, but normally involve drownings in unsafe swimming areas or accidents involving smaller boats.