Boy, six, drowns in channel

NAI HARN: Thanat Massatool, a six-year-old boy from Koh Kaew, drowned in a water channel near Nai Harn Beach on Sunday. Pol Maj Sanae Panmee of Chalong Police Station said the accident took place at the south end of Nai Harn beach, where the channel connects Nong Harn pond and Nai Harn Beach. The boy and his family had been at the beach. At about 5:30 pm, while the rest of the family were packing up their belongings, the boy ran ahead to the car. “They were aware of this, but thought nothing of it,” said Maj Sanae. “But when they got to the car, which was parked next to the channel, they couldn’t find him.” The family then searched for the boy and, about half an hour later, found his body in the middle of the channel, near the car. “It seemed that the boy was trying to wash himself at the side of the channel, but slipped in and drowned. The water where they found his body was about chest-high on an adult,” said Maj Sanae. Thanat was already dead when found. The family took him back to their home in Koh Kaew, where his body will be cremated.