Pregnant woman missing after tugboat capsizes in Ayutthaya river
Husband escapes as strong currents sweep wife away
A pregnant Thai woman remains missing after her husband lost control of a tugboat, which capsized in the Pasak River in the central province of Ayutthaya yesterday, October 14.
Officers from Nakhon Luang Police Station received a report that a cargo tugboat had sunk in the middle of the Pa Sak River at around 3.30pm yesterday. The incident left one person injured and another missing near the Chia Tai Company pier in the Pak Chan sub-district, Nakhon Luang district, Ayutthaya province.
Rescue workers from the Phutthaisawan Foundation were dispatched to the scene. The team secured the sunken vessel with ropes and coordinated with five other tugboats to pull it closer to the riverbank, temporarily clearing the waterway.
Volunteer divers from the Phutthaisawan Foundation then began searching for the missing person, identified as 21 year old Pennapaporn Maksakorn, who was six to seven months pregnant.
Pennapaporn’s husband, 24 year old Sirawut Phobangwai, who was driving the boat, explained that he was steering the last tugboat in a convoy of six, towing three barges loaded with ore from Wat Phanan Choeng pier to Jumbo pier.
As they reached the location of the incident, he lost balance, causing the boat to tilt and overturn. He managed to jump off the vessel, but his wife was unable to escape and disappeared into the water.
Rescue divers continued their search for the missing woman until this morning, October 15, but she has still not been found. The waterway has been temporarily closed to facilitate the search operation.
Channel 7 reported that officers from the cargo tugboat company successfully salvaged the boat after six hours of operation. However, the body of the pregnant woman was not found inside the vessel.
The victim’s older sister, 24 year old Phatcharaporn Maksakorn, told the media that she rushed from Samut Prakan province to Ayutthaya to monitor the search for her sister. Phatcharaporn admitted that she had not spoken to her sister for a long time due to a personal conflict.
According to Phatcharaporn, her sister moved to live with her husband in Ayutthaya about two years ago. Their parents also work for the cargo tugboat company, but they were aboard another vessel and are now travelling back to Thailand to follow up on the case.
Bowon Wongsaehor, a 61 year old boat operator with over 40 years of experience, confirmed that the accident site was not considered a dangerous area of the river. He said the tugboat had already passed the hazardous spot where accidents usually occur.
Bowon attributed the incident to the vessel’s excessive speed while navigating a river curve. Reportedly, Sirawut attempted to regain control but was unsuccessful, resulting in the boat capsizing.
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