HTMS Sukhothai sank off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in Thailand (Picture: AP)

This is the terrifying moment a navy warship with 106 sailors on board sunk in the Gulf of Thailand.

Footage shows HTMS Sukhothai tilting sharply toward the sea amid high winds as water rushed into its hull.

Marines could be seen waiting for rescuers at the top deck as the already severe weather worsened.

The overnight mission saved 73 members of the crew, but the rest were forced to abandon the ship.

Three frigates and two helicopters were sent to find the missing off Prachuap Khiri Khan province, south of Bangkok.

As of mid-morning local time, at least 33 people were still missing at sea.

The warship part of the Royal Thai Navy (Picture: Anadolu)

An overnight mission rescued 73 members of the crew (Picture: Anadolu)

Three frigates and two helicopters were sent to find them (Picture: Anadolu)

Some were treated in hospital following the rescue (Picture: Anadolu)

Strong winds blew water onto the corvette and knocked out its electrical system on Sunday evening.

The loss of power allowed more seawater to flow into the vessel, causing it to list and sink.

The navy shared images and videos on Twitter showing a group of personnel in orange vests in a black inflatable raft moving away from the ship in darkness as waves swelled around it.

It was not immediately clear how many rafts had been deployed.

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The US-built corvette, which has been in use since 1987, went down just before midnight about 20 miles off the coast.

A picture showed the grey vessel flipped over onto its side, while another image on a scanner screen showed the bow of the ship and a gun turret poking out above the waterline as it went down.

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A rescue operation is currently taking place.