Video: A mother's anguish - car winched out of Chanthaburi gravel pit proves to contain her husband and child

[webfact]

Picture: Daily News

 

A Thai mother's worst fears were realized when a rescue team winched out the family car from an abandoned and flooded gravel pit in Chanthaburi in eastern Thailand. 

 

The Toyota contained Thanu Bamrungpong's 51 year old husband Thanom and ten year old son Thanaphon. 

 

The driver's side window was open, the key was in the ignition in the "on" position and the automatic was in "drive".

 

Thanu collapsed as the car broke the surface of the ten meter deep pit.

 

She explained that she worked in a restaurant in Rayong while her son and husband lived in the Tha Mai area of Chanthaburi. 

 

She received a call from her son on July 18th saying that he wanted to come and visit her. After that contact ceased.

 

She went back to Chanthaburi and could not find them and contact with relatives and a fortune teller also proved fruitless.

 

Then while searching she saw tracks leading into the large body of water in Soi Susarn Tha Tai along with bits from a car and called the authorities. 

 

A video published by Daily News caught the drama.

 

Police have initially determined that they believe the driver fell asleep at the wheel and was unable to save himself or the boy. 

 

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[BTB1977]

I guess she knew where to look. 

[hotchilli]

Tragic way to leave this world.

[Dont confuse me]

Poor woman, all the grief going on, the hardship being endured and then having to cope with this!

I bet she can't take time off of work to grieve, other than the funeral.

[itsari]

Deeply sad for the surviving wife and mother . My heart felt condolences on her loss .

[steven100]

poor boy ...

very sad, he had everything to live for.

[bangon04]

7 hours ago, BTB1977 said:

I guess she knew where to look. 

"contact with ......................... a fortune teller also proved fruitless"

[MayBeNow]

And everything worth living for is gone. So sad.

[huangnon]

Terrible. Driver "fell asleep"?

[gomangosteen]

5 hours ago, huangnon said:

Terrible. Driver "fell asleep"?

We'll never know. This is near us, between our place and the coast and on my regular cycling route. 

 

News item says 10m deep, I'm unsure of that but here is a view before full of water, though depth irrelevant once over car height.

 

 

 

And full to about 1.5m below road level 

 

 

Whichever way the driver was headed, it would require a strong swerve left or right on what is almost a straight section of sealed road to enter the water, trees at the east edge, and steep banks westward. 

 

I suppose if a driver did go to sleep they could slump over the wheel  causing a sudden turn. 

 

The other news story I read stated the boy wanted to go to 'live' with his mother, not ' visit' as this quoted one says. 

 

Back to 'we'll never know' but I remain sceptical of the sleep excuse. Still, tragic for all concerned.