Boy drowns in Hat Yai canal despite rescue efforts

An eight year old boy tragically drowned while playing in a canal with his friends in Hat Yai, Songkhla. Despite efforts to rescue him, it took two hours to locate his body after his grandfather performed a ritual.

The incident occurred at around 1.30pm yesterday, July 20, when police from Koh Hong Police Station in Songkhla received a report of a missing child in Khlong Hua, Village 7, Koh Hong Subdistrict, Hat Yai District.

The police, along with a rescue team from the Mitraphap Samakee Foundation (Thong Sia Siang Tung), arrived at the scene to find the boy’s family and locals desperately searching for the eight year old. His clothes and shoes were found neatly placed by the canal’s edge, indicating where he had entered the water.

Despite the rescue team’s efforts, searching the area twice over two hours, they were unable to locate the boy. In a desperate attempt, his grandfather lit incense and prayed for divine intervention.

Miraculously, within minutes of this ritual, the boy’s body was discovered submerged in the canal, much to the sorrow of his grieving family and friends, reported KhaoSod.

Initial investigations revealed that the boy was with a group of four children, comprising three boys and one girl, who had gone to the canal to play. The boy who drowned had jumped into a deeper part of the canal.

His friends saw him struggling to stay afloat and attempted to help, but he disappeared beneath the water before they could reach him.

In related news, a young girl drowned in Khon Kaen as she played on a weir with a group of others. Three were rescued after a four-hour search.

Police from the Water Operation Unit of the VR Friendship Rescue Association in Phon Mueang mobilised to search for the 12 year old girl, Panadda Nganman, also known as Nong Mai, on July 19. She was a resident of Ban Non Sawan in Khlong Chim, Waeng Yai district, Khon Kaen province.