Man in Southern Thailand believed to have drowned after fishing in flooded rice field

The body of a man in Southern Thailand was found yesterday. His mother believes he drowned while fishing in a flooded rice field. The man’s mother said the rice fields near her house were under about 70 centimetres of water after several days of continuous rain. She says her son went to catch fish in the fields. When she noticed she couldn’t see him anymore, she searched for him, and found him floating in the water.

The mother and her neighbours moved the man out of the water, but he was already dead. The mother believes her son drowned after having a cramp. The body has been sent for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. There were no signs of violence on his body.

The incident happened in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The provincial governor said this morning that 312 villages, 12 districts, and about 19,815 rai of farmland in the province, are now flooded. Authorities are assessing damage in the area to crops, livestock, fish ponds, and public utilities.

The man’s name is confirmed to be 41 year old Niwat Khumprasit.

This news comes just one day after a man drowned at Chawaeng Beach of Koh Samui in another southern province, Surat Thani. The Thai Meteorological Department this week issued a 24-hour stormy weather warning for Phuket, Krabi, Trang, Satun and Phang Ng, on Tuesday while a large storm front blew in from the Andaman Sea.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post