Phuket tourists dive in to help Methee’s grieving parents
PHUKET: A man who has asked to remain anonymous has contacted the Phuket Gazette in response to the story covering the unfortunate death of Methee Khunsuinhu, who died as a result of a drowning accident at a lagoon near Nai Harn Beach on New Year’s Day.
The man, a foreigner who lives and works in Phuket, expressed his deep condolences and offered to donate money to the boy’s family to help with the funeral of Methee, who died in the intensive care unit at Vachira Phuket Hospital on Tuesday.
The man explained that one of his friends on holiday in Phuket pulled Methee from the water on New Year’s Day.
“My friends came from Italy to holiday in Phuket. The 15 of them were at Nai Harn Beach when the tragedy happened,” he said.
“They were on the beach not too far from the lagoon. My friend said he heard a woman scream. He ran there and saw Methee drowning. The beach guard wasn’t there and no one seemed to be doing anything, so he jumped into the water to help,” he said.
“He pulled the boy from the water before anyone else arrived. He saw that the boy was unconscious and did everything to help. He tried CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but nothing seemed to work,” he added.
The man told the Gazette that he and his friends would like to make donation to help with Methee’s funeral.
“My friend who pulled the boy from the water felt really bad that he was unable to save his life. So he and the other 14 of them gathered a donation of 13,000 baht, which they wish to pass on to Methee’s family,” he said.
Methee’s father, 30-year-old Pakit Khunsuinhu, asked the Gazette to convey his thanks for the donation and his deep gratitude to the man who pulled Methee from the water.
“We will honor him by dedicating tonight’s prayers to him before Methee’s cremation,” he told the Gazette yesterday.
Mr Pakit explained that he requested doctors at the hospital to cease treatment after he was told that Methee’s prognosis was fatal.
“Doctors told me that Methee was not responding to a ‘heart stimulant’ and that it was only the life-support machines that were keeping his heart going,” he explained.
“I didn’t want to see my boy suffer anymore,” he said.
Methee is to be cremated in his home province of Songkhla tomorrow.
— Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai
