Image: Thairath

 

Three boys, aged 3, 5 and 7, have died after drowning in a 2 metre deep ditch in the Bang Bon district of Bangkok on Saturday.

 

Police and rescue workers were called to the scene at Soi 133 on Ekkachai Road following a report the boys had disappeared while swimming.

 

Thai Rath reported the ditch where the boys drowned was in the process of being made into a fruit orchard and was around 2 metres deep.

 

Rescuers recovered the three boys, who were in kindergarten and grade 1, and performed CPR before they were rushed to nearby hospitals.

 

The three boys were pronounced dead a short while later.

 

According to one of the people who searched for the boys, the children lived in the nearby Mankhong 133 community and often played on the plot of land together. 

 

Thai Rath said the boys had been left in the care of relatives while their parents went out to work. 

 

Neighbours said they found the boy’s shoes at the ditch but could not find the boys. It was then that the alarm was raised.

 

Thai Rath said it took rescuers one hour to recover the boys before they were rushed to hospital. 

 

Drowning is the leading cause of death among children aged under 15 in Thailand. 

 

According to a Public Health Ministry report, 10,923 children under the age of 15 drowned in Thailand between 2006 and 2015.

 

Another MOPH report released in 2009 said approximately 4 children per day or 1,500 children per year die from drowning in Thailand.

 

Most drownings tend to occur between the months of March to May, which typically are the schools holidays. 

 

The majority of drownings take place in areas as reported above, such as in ponds, ditches or reservoirs where there is often no warning signs, fences, adult supervision or access to life saving equipment. 

 

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Tragic.  Unsupervised children.  Sad.

So sad, RIP young boys. Prayers to your parents.

3 wasted little lives, left in care of relatives ......

RIP little ones.

regards worgeordie

Instead of marching them up and down in the playground and dressing them up as nurses and boy scouts and reciting how great the nation and  all that <deleted> why not  introduce compulsory swimming  lessons like  we had when I was at school.

35 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

care

Total lack of more  like.

4 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Thai Rath said the boys had been left in the care of relatives while their parents went out to work. 

negligent Homicide 

 

so very sad 

 

Adults are responsible for this tragedy 

 

RIP RIP RIP

3 hours ago, gunderhill said:

Instead of marching them up and down in the playground and dressing them up as nurses and boy scouts and reciting how great the nation and  all that <deleted> why not  introduce compulsory swimming  lessons like  we had when I was at school.

Tragic and very sad.

 

And yes, my home country in the 60's was no more 'developed' than Thailand is now -  but we were all taught to swim as kids .... in my case by a fierce swimming teacher and we all feared if we didn't learn to swim fast, she'd drown us all.

6 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

Tragic.  Unsupervised children.  Sad.

 

As kids, we'd disappear in  the morning, only showing up at lunch and dinner.  Nobody supervised us.  We chased butterflies, played baseball, tag and army, climbed trees and did what kids do.   And that was the entire neighborhood.

 

And we learned to find friends, form relationships, pick up teams, negotiate trades and resolve conflicts on our own.  We had 2 rules.  No crossing the freeway and no swimming in Butterfield Creek.  (Okay- 3.  No throwing apples at passing cars)

Tragic as it is that these kids drowned, I don't blame the adults for just letting them be kids.

 

Teaching kids to swim is a double edge sword.  On one hand, it can save their lives.  But on the other, it emboldens them to the water.  My guess is that the kids went in and couldn't get back out because of the slippery nature of the banks on a construction project.

May you R. I. P boys, tragic, 

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

As kids, we'd disappear in  the morning, only showing up at lunch and dinner.  Nobody supervised us.  We chased butterflies, played baseball, tag and army, climbed trees and did what kids do.   And that was the entire neighborhood.

 

And we learned to find friends, form relationships, pick up teams, negotiate trades and resolve conflicts on our own.  We had 2 rules.  No crossing the freeway and no swimming in Butterfield Creek.  (Okay- 3.  No throwing apples at passing cars)

Tragic as it is that these kids drowned, I don't blame the adults for just letting them be kids.

 

Teaching kids to swim is a double edge sword.  On one hand, it can save their lives.  But on the other, it emboldens them to the water.  My guess is that the kids went in and couldn't get back out because of the slippery nature of the banks on a construction project.

I, too disappeared alone in the woods even in the winter time.  But maybe age 7-8,  NOT 3 or 5.  And we didn't throw tomatoes or snowballs at cars until we were 12 or more.  ???? 

3 hours ago, impulse said:

Tragic as it is that these kids drowned, I don't blame the adults for just letting them be kids.

one of  them  was 3 yrs  old ,  im  sure  u  werent  doing  all  those things at 3 yrs  old

1 minute ago, gunderhill said:

one of  them  was 3 yrs  old ,  im  sure  u  werent  doing  all  those things at 3 yrs  old

 

Mom made us take our little brother...

15 hours ago, gunderhill said:

Instead of marching them up and down in the playground and dressing them up as nurses and boy scouts and reciting how great the nation and  all that <deleted> why not  introduce compulsory swimming  lessons like  we had when I was at school.

There is a swimming pool at a school where I taught a few years ago but no instructor, a Thai teacher that couldn't swim. I offered to teach them but it was refused because they wanted to teach them the Thai way not the Farang way and it would make Thai look stupid.

RIP little fellows you have a year from me.

6 minutes ago, Paul Kernell said:

There is a swimming pool at a school where I taught a few years ago but no instructor, a Thai teacher that couldn't swim. I offered to teach them but it was refused because they wanted to teach them the Thai way not the Farang way and it would make Thai look stupid.

RIP little fellows you have a year from me.

And what in the  name of **** is the Thai way of teaching to swim?

But anyway knowing how in this instance probably not much help because of the depth of sticky mud in the holes would have trapped them.

A sad event for sure

Fifty two years ago an American family in Thailand was having a dinner at an official's home in Thailand.......he the recently discharged helicopter pilot from the Marines, then a pilot for Air America.  The wife a mother of a young boy and expectant mother of a girl.  She inside with guests, he out on the patio with other guests.  She thought the son was with the father and the father thought he was with the mother.  The young boy drowned in a small klong behind the governor's home.  He's buried in a Catholic cemetery here in Udon.....one of the earliest Americans to be buried there.  Tragedies happen......I'd hesitate to be pointing fingers in this case unless I knew all the details.

17 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So sad, RIP young boys. Prayers to your parents.

I hope the "caring relatives" have a good explanation for the parents.

17 hours ago, gunderhill said:

Instead of marching them up and down in the playground and dressing them up as nurses and boy scouts and reciting how great the nation and  all that <deleted> why not  introduce compulsory swimming  lessons like  we had when I was at school.

THat's what I did when I found out they did not like water as their mother scared them. 

2 hours ago, Paul Kernell said:

I offered to teach them but it was refused because they wanted to teach them the Thai way not the Farang way and it would make Thai look stupid.

 

Really.

Swimming lessons are necessary for Thai children. Schools can use Thesabaan pools, no excuse. 

19 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

The majority of drownings take place in areas as reported above, such as in ponds, ditches or reservoirs where there is often no warning signs, fences, adult supervision or access to life saving equipment.

In addition, virtually none of these children have been taught to swim.  A satang worth of prevention is worth a 100 THB worth of tragedy.

My own wife lost her first son to drowning at 7.  Absolutely tragic.
RIP young ones.

About 6 years ago I rescued a girl that was playing in a reservoir.  She was with a group of kids with one adult supervising but had wandered away from the rest and was over by where our dogs were swimming.  My wife spotted her first.  By the time I reached her she had gone completely under.  After we got her back on shore the guy came over and started yelling at her.  Never said thanks or anything to us.  It was a weird feeling for me knowing that someone was alive only because of our actions.  I still wonder from time to time how the girl is doing now.

sad news ????  always say to my boy stay away from a place like that 

"Drowning is the leading cause of death among children aged under 15 in Thailand. "

 

then they grow up to die in motorcycle accidents......

poor children.

God that sucks poor little guys my deepest condolences to the bereaved family’s a lesson to us all make your kids water safe it Will take your life sadly over the years I’ve seen it happen all to many times poor kids sad

2 hours ago, bangon04 said:

"Drowning is the leading cause of death among children aged under 15 in Thailand. "

 

then they grow up to die in motorcycle accidents......

Just what I was thinking . Age 16 to 20 biggest cause of death is most likely motorcycle accidents.

Very sad news.  RIP young souls.

9 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I hope the "caring relatives" have a good explanation for the parents.

I would dread to be in their slippers.

5 hours ago, thai006 said:

sad news ????  always say to my boy stay away from a place like that 

Instead of instilling fear - take him into a place like that and teach him to swim.