Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) --
A Royal Thai Navy warship sank in bad weather early Monday, leaving 33 of its crew of 106 sailors missing in stormy seas in the Gulf of Thailand, Thai authorities said. .
Three rescued sailors were in critical condition, and a search operation was underway for the missing crew, authorities said.
Strong winds tipped the 252-foot (76.8-meter) corvette HTMS Sukhothai, allowing seawater to enter an exhaust pipe and knock out the ship's electrical system, according to a Thai navy statement. .
The power blackout caused the ship's main power systems to fail, leaving the crew unable to maneuver or pump out seawater that had entered its hull, it said.
Over the course of more than three hours, efforts to transfer bombs to the Sukhothai from other navy ships responding to the incident failed, the statement said.
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"At 0012 Monday, the Sukhothai sank further.
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Bad weather in the Gulf of Thailand, some 32 kilometers from Bang Saphan district in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, continued until late Monday morning, making it difficult to search for the missing crew, according to the authorities.
The 960-ton Sukhothai was built in the United States and incorporated into the Thai navy in 1987.
Carl Schuster, a retired US Navy captain, said the Thai crew faced a difficult situation on such an old ship.
"Once you lose power, you're in the dark and doing everything with portable diesel pumps and buckets," he explained.
"For a small ship, (almost) 40 years old, in heavy seas, the odds are against success in that case."
CNN's Teele Rebane contributed reporting.
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