Siblings Drown In Kata Tragedy

KATA BEACH: Three Thai children from the same Karon family drowned Saturday after they went swimming in heavy surf without adult supervision, Chalong district police reported. The bodies of 17-year-old Methanee Chuanchid and her sister Sasithorn, 11, were pulled from the water at approximately 9:30 Saturday night by members of the Kusonlatam Foundation Public Rescue Unit. The body of their younger sister, eight-year-old Suthisa, was recovered at daybreak on Sunday. Beach-goers reported the disappearance of the three girls to Marine Police stationed at Patong Beach shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday. Witnesses told police arriving at the scene that the three young girls had been playing in the surf when they disappeared from sight. Heavy seas hampered search efforts by Marine Police. The children’s mother, whose name was not released by authorities, reportedly fainted Sunday night when the bodies of two of her daughters were recovered. The corpses of the three girls were transferred to the morgue at Wachira General Hospital in Phuket Town.