Thai man drowns after falling into canal on Loy Krathong night

A man tragically drowned in Thailand’s central province of Ayutthaya on Loy Krathong night on Tuesday, after he and his wife fell into a canal linked to the Rama VI Dam.

The couple, a 44 year old wife and 51 year old husband had been invited to a Loy Krathong event after work. They decided to go and float their krathongs at the event due to the quiet atmosphere, without too much of a crowd.

When the couple was near the edge of the water, the husband slipped and fell in. The husband couldn’t swim, and the wife tried to help him, and she ended up falling in as well.

The couple fell into the water close to the floodgate, where the current was very strong. The husband saw that they were both going to drown, and he let go of his wife’s hand. The wife then had to watch her husband drown.

The wife then managed to swim back to land and call for help. It took rescuers about four hours to find the man’s body, Matichon reported.

This fatal incident is a reminder that Loy Krathong sometimes ends in tragedy. The Ministry of Public Health revealed some damning drowning statistics during the Loy Kratong Festival from 2017 to 2021. Over those five years, 60 people drowned on Loy Kratong Day, an average of 12 people per year.

It was also revealed that death by drowning is high the day after Loy Kratong Day.

The Ministry of Public Health said most of the deaths were among people aged 45 to 59 years old while 30% of the deaths were children aged under 15 years old. There were more male deaths than females.

After the drowning incident in Ayutthaya, a wife is now left grieving.