6 year old Egyptian girl drowns after falling into waterfall in southern Thailand
A six year old Egyptian girl drowned after she fell from a concrete bridge into the Song Phraek Waterfall in the southern province of Phang Nga.
A Thai tour guide yesterday afternoon quickly alerted the authorities at Ton Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary when he witnessed the young girl accidentally slipping into the waterfall. The strong current swiftly carried her to the lower tier of the waterfall, and she disappeared.
The authorities rushed to the scene and attempted to follow the girl into the lower level by using a raft. However, the path was blocked by layers of rocks, making it impassable. Officers then decided to go through the jungle to the lower part of the waterfall instead.
They discovered the lifeless body of the girl caught between a rock and a large log and managed to remove the log and retrieve the victim’s body.
Her parents, overwhelmed with sorrow, cried hard and blamed themselves for her death. Her body was transferred to a hospital for an autopsy.
The leader of the Ton Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary, Uten Siriphuwadon, reported to the media that the girl came with her parents and three other Egyptian tourists. They engaged in various activities, including rafting and elephant riding, before they visited the waterfall.
At the waterfall, the girl walked onto the bridge in the middle of the waterfall and stopped there for her mother to take a picture. Uten anticipated that the girl might have stepped backwards to find the perfect pose and background and slipped on the bridge and fell into the waterfall.
According to Uten, an Egyptian tourist who came with her family grabbed her arms and tried to pull her up but the stream was too strong and fast.
Uten said that the concrete bridge is strong and has handrails along one side of the bridge. It is a photogenic spot for tourists to get perfect pictures with the greenery background.
Uten emphasised that what had happened was an accident. Authorities and tour guides will be taking additional precautions to prevent similar incidents in the future, especially for children, old, and disabled people. The authorities added they would close the waterfall if the water level was too high.
Another tragic incident occurred with an Iranian man, 42 year old Behzadifar Javad Gholamabbas, in March of last year. The man reportedly fell from a raft and disappeared in the canal connected with the Song Phraek Waterfall. Over 200 authorities and locals spent over an hour searching for him and discovered his body about 2 kilometres away from the accident scene.
