Elderly man drowns while crossing broken bridge in Udon Thani

Two elderly men attempting to cross a broken bridge to reach their rice fields faced a tragic incident when they fell into the fast-flowing stream, resulting in one drowning while the other managed to survive.

Yesterday, September 26, local news from Udon Thani reported that the head of the Udon Thani Highway Police Rescue Centre, Witaya Phanla, received an urgent call about a person who had gone missing in the water at Lam Huai Yao in Kud Kanuan village, Bung Kaeo sub-district, Non Sa-at district, Udon Thani.

The rescue team immediately rushed to the scene, encountering significant challenges as they had to navigate through difficult terrain several kilometres from the village, where the water was flowing rapidly. Due to the conditions, they were unable to bring their vehicle and had to proceed on foot.

Upon arrival, they found villagers actively searching for the missing person. One elderly man was found safe on the riverbank, having managed to escape the water. Unfortunately, the other elderly man had been swept away by the strong current.

Rescue teams from the Pracha Tham Foundation in Kumphawapi and the Songsermtham Udon Thani Foundation joined forces to conduct an underwater search for the missing individual. After approximately three hours of searching, they recovered the body at around 9.20pm and brought it ashore.

Investigators from the Non Sa-at Police Station collaborated on the scene with an on-duty physician from Non Sa-at Hospital to examine the body. The deceased was identified as 62 year old Saneh Uthaili, a local of Udon Thani.

According to the surviving man, they were attempting to cross a wooden bridge that had been broken by the strong current to reach their fields. They were using a rope to assist their crossing, a route they took daily, reported KhaoSod.

However, on this day, both men fell into the water. The survivor was carried by the current to the riverbank where he managed to grab hold of bamboo branches and climb out, while his friend was swept away and drowned.