Teen drowns in Wang River after all-night search effort

A 17 year old student drowned in the Wang River after an all-night search by rescue teams failed to locate him. His parents, calling out his name by the river the following day, witnessed his body resurface shortly after.

A young student, referred to as 17 year old A from a vocational college in Lampang, went missing while fishing and playing in the Wang River with friends. Originating from Kamphaeng Phet, A and his friends were near the Ban Lampang Bridge in Pong Saen Thong, Mueang District, when the incident occurred.

They were walking along the riverbank, casting artificial baits, and had wandered about 200 metres from the bridge when A suddenly fell into a deep section of the river and disappeared underwater.

Despite efforts by his two friends to grab him, their attempts were futile as A wasn’t wearing a shirt, making it difficult to hold onto him. Witnessing their friend vanish before their eyes, the friends initiated a search immediately.

Rescue teams joined the effort, diving and searching for approximately four hours but could not find him. The friends even lit incense and prayed, hoping for a quick resolution. The incident took place in the afternoon yesterday.

The rescue teams continued their search throughout the night without any progress. Today, under the direction of Phaithun Phothong, the Mayor of Khelang City, the search resumed. A’s parents arrived at the scene and, in a heart-wrenching moment, called out their son’s name, urging him to come home.

Miraculously, within 10 minutes, A’s body surfaced and floated towards a patch of water hyacinths at the boundary between Ban Lampang Klang East and Chomphu Subdistrict.

Rescue personnel worked together to retrieve A’s body from the water. The emotional scene saw the parents breaking down in tears upon seeing their son. Onlookers shared in the sorrow of the grieving family, reported KhaoSod.

After retrieving the body, police prepared to conduct an autopsy in collaboration with the investigating officers and a forensic doctor before handing the body over to the family for further arrangements.