Thai soldiers save stranded Chinese man from watery trap (video)
Thai soldiers rescued a Chinese man who was trapped for three days in a 10-metre-deep water well in a forest near the Thai-Myanmar border in the northern province of Tak.
Soldiers from the Ratchamanu Task Force Headquarters in Mae Sot district were patrolling the area last night, November 24, at around 8.30pm to prevent drug and human trafficking. During their patrol, they heard a strange scream coming from the forest, which gave them goosebumps.
The soldiers moved towards the source of the sound, and the troop leader decided to shout into the darkness. When the voice responded, they were convinced it was human and not something supernatural, as they initially feared.
They eventually located an old water well and shone a flashlight inside, revealing a man aged between 35 and 40 years at the bottom. Fortunately, there is no water in the well.
The man, later identified as a Chinese national, was shirtless and wearing only shorts. His name was not disclosed to the public. He, unable to speak Thai, communicated briefly in English, explaining that he fell into the well three days earlier. He was unable to sleep or eat during that time and was extremely weak.
The Chinese national expressed his gratitude to the soldiers, saying he would have died if they did not heard his cries for help.
Despite the man’s limited explanation, the soldiers could not determine why he was in the forest near the border. Immigration Bureau officers plan to question him further to ascertain his purpose for being in the area.
The soldiers suggested to Matichon that the man might have intentionally entered the well to hide, as the area is frequently patrolled to apprehend Burmese nationals and other foreigners illegally crossing into Thailand.
In a related incident in Phuket, a Thai man and his 10 year old autistic nephew were rescued from a 7-metre-deep water well by a rescue team. The boy had accidentally fallen into the well first, and his uncle followed in an attempt to pull him up but was unable to do so.
