PHUKET, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A local official said on Tuesday that search and rescue teams had found three more passenger bodies who were very likely to be the victims killed in a capsizal accident of a tourist boat off the coast of Thai island of Phuket last Thursday.

Phuket Provincial Governor Norraphat Plodthong told a press conference at the command center for the search and rescue mission that so far Thai and Chinese officials have confirmed that among the original 10 missing, five passengers are actually safe, and three of them have gone back to China.

According to the governor, if the newly found three bodies are confirmed to be passengers of the boat "Phoenix", then the accident has left 45 dead and two passengers missing so far. Fourty-two of the dead have been confirmed to be Chinese.

Vice Admiral Somnuk Preampramot, commander of the Royal Thai Navy's Third Area Command, said the navy will not give up search for the missing, but the salvage attempt for the sunken wreckage of the boat "Phoenix" has been postponed on Tuesday due to strong wind and rough seas.