Tragic tale: Heroic son drowns saving mother in Buriram river

In a heart-wrenching tale of bravery, a mother narrowly avoided drowning when her son leapt into the water to rescue her, tragically losing his own life in the process. Devastated and heartbroken, the grieving mother expressed her anguish, saying that, as the older one, she felt she should have been the one to perish instead of her beloved son.

Police Lieutenant Ruengsak Saengkham, Deputy Inspector at Nang Rong Police Station in Nang Rong district, Buriram province, received a report of a drowning incident in the Lam Mas River near Ban Tha Phun, Nong Bot subdistrict, Nang Rong district.

The Siam Ruamjai Pu In Rescue Unit dispatched divers to the scene, which featured a wooden bridge built by locals. The bridge, approximately 140 centimetres wide and 60 metres long, facilitates travel between villages.

Villagers gathered and attempted to assist 41 year old Theethat, who had disappeared underwater earlier. The rescue team searched the 7-metre deep water for about 40 minutes before recovering his body approximately 20 metres from the bridge.

Thongsuk, the 67 year old deceased’s mother, wept inconsolably by the river. She recounted that she and her son routinely cut grass for their cows.

They travelled by motorcycle with a trailer attached, her son driving while she sat on the back, holding onto the trailer. While crossing the bridge on their way back, the trailer’s wheel got stuck in a gap.

Thongsuk, sitting behind, got off to free the wheel but accidentally fell into the water. Seeing this, her son immediately jumped in to help. She clung to his shirt while he tried to push her closer to the bridge. The strong current made it strenuous, lasting more than 30 minutes as he battled the water to save his mother.

Villagers noticed the struggle and tried to extend a stick to them but it didn’t reach them. They ran off to find a longer one. By then, Theethat had started to weaken, likely using his remaining strength to push his mother closer to the bridge, reported KhaoSod.

Thongsuk let go of her son, hoping he would survive. She lost sight of him and heard people shouting about a stick, which she grabbed onto. The villagers pulled her to the bridge, but her son was nowhere to be seen. She expressed deep sorrow in losing her son.

“I should have been the one to die, not my son.”