Phuket man plunges into water well, drowns

PHUKET: Phuket Police are treating as an apparent suicide the death of an elderly man whose body was found at the bottom of a water well in Thalang early this morning.

Thalang Police were notified of the tragedy at 7am by residents of Ban Nai Khlam in Cherng Talay, many of whom were gathered around the well by the time police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers arrived.

Thalang Police duty officer Yosaphat Suwannasit identified the deceased as local resident Sutham Douangrat, age 65.

Relatives told police that before he went missing yesterday morning Mr Yosaphat had told them he was under stress from a variety of physical ailments.

Resuming their search for him this morning, they found his sandals near the well before discovering his body in a sitting position at the bottom.

Under about nine meters of water, the body was still visible at a depth of 25 meters below the well head.

The recovery effort was made difficult by the narrow diameter of the well, about 80 centimeters.

It took rescue workers using ropes two hours to recover the body, which was taken to Thalang Hospital for examination.

The apparent cause of death was drowning, police said.

The incident was the second death of an elderly person in a water well this year.

In January the body of 80-year-old Saner Bureerak was found in the family well at her home in Thepkrasattri.

However police believe that incident was an accident and not suicide.

— Wichai Witthawat