Rescuers in Thailand yesterday prepared to lift a sunken tourist boat and said 15 people are still missing after the craft capsized off the coast of Phuket island, killing at least 41 people.

The Phoenix - which had 105 people on board, including 93 Chinese tourists and 12 Thai crew - went down in bad weather on Thursday evening, in one of Thailand's worst recent accidents.

Police on Saturday said they have charged the ship's captain with negligence leading to damages, injury and death.

The captain, who was police did not name, has denied the charges.

"The captain of the boat has been charged with negligence causing damages and loss of life," Police Lieutenant General Sorasak Yenprem, provincial police commissioner, said on Saturday.

A note circulated by rescue workers invited reporters to join an effort yesterday to raise the sunken Phoenix.

Forty-one of those on board have been confirmed dead and another 49 rescued, officials said, leaving 15 unaccounted for.

Divers have been searching inside the submerged vessel for any survivors. Helicopters have also joined the search.

Friends and relatives of those injured and deceased have arrived in Phuket to identify their loved ones.

Visibly distraught relatives were seen being escorted through one hospital on the island's east coast to a waiting room.