Pictures from responders.

 

The incident occurred at a pier in Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district, a man drowned in front of his mother after his rowing boat was struck by a motorboat, mere metres from the shore. The motorboat driver, an elderly man, revealed that he was too old to jump in and save the victim.

 

At around 19:00 on September 23, Pol. Lt. Wasukit Panrat, an investigator from Bang Yai Police Station, Nonthaburi, was notified of a fatal boat collision near Wat Somkliang pier in Bang Mae Nang subdistrict. The incident left one man, identified as 58-year-old Veerawong, dead. Rescue divers searched for and recovered his body, finding him submerged near the pier.

 

 

At the scene, authorities found the victim’s overturned rowing boat and the motorboat of 63-year-old Manit, the individual responsible for the collision. Both boats were docked at Wat Somkliang pier as part of the ongoing investigation.

 

Manit recounted that he had been navigating his motorboat to pick up his nephew to return home when he noticed a rowing boat on his left. He assumed the rower would not cross his path but was caught off guard when the man suddenly sped toward the pier to collect his mother. This resulted in Manit’s motorboat crashing into the rower, causing Veerawong to capsize and sink into the river. Manit admitted that he did not jump into the water to help, citing his advanced age of 63, fearing he too would drown.

 

Suriyan, 56, the victim’s brother-in-law, was present at the time of the accident and shared the heartbreaking details. He explained that their mother-in-law regularly sold goods at the Phra Pin 3 market, and Veerawong would row out to pick her up every evening. On the day of the incident, there had been light rain as Veerawong neared the pier, only a few metres away. Suddenly, the motorboat struck him head-on, causing him to fall into the water and disappear before their eyes.

Suriyan shouted to Manit, urging him to jump in and help, but the driver remained on the boat. From his vantage point at a nearby house, Suriyan admitted he too was hesitant to dive in, as the current was particularly strong. He quickly rowed across to the scene, but by then, his brother-in-law had already drowned.

 

Suriyan urged all boat operators to slow down, be more cautious, and pay attention to their surroundings to prevent future tragedies. "Most boats on the Bang Yai canal are long-tail boats or small local vessels. We must be careful," he said.

 

Police officers are currently gathering statements from witnesses and have sent both boats to forensic experts to examine collision marks and determine liability. Manit will undergo further questioning as the investigation continues.

 

 

-- 2024-09-24

 

 

oh dear Georgealbert,    very sad news indeed,   the motorboat should have slowed right down when approaching the row boat ...  he already seen him on his left so at that point he should have taken extra care.

 

 

Another one drowns likely not being able to swim. The boat operator was 63 and afraid to help? Guessing he couldn't swim also. The brother in law hesitated to help because of a particularly strong current in a canal? The body was found next to the pier, meaning no strong current.  No one teaching them swimming as a child claims people almost daily here.

The row boat sped across to the pier? A rowboat can't speed across normally. It sounds like the usual negligence. 

7 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Suriyan urged all boat operators to slow down, be more cautious, and pay attention to their surroundings to prevent future tragedies.

All lost in the moment...

13 hours ago, nakhonandy said:

The row boat sped across to the pier? A rowboat can't speed across normally. It sounds like the usual negligence. 

yes,  agree ...   a row boat doesn't speed across to anything ....   a motorboat speeds,  a speedboat speeds,   but a row boat rows.   

14 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Another one drowns likely not being able to swim. The boat operator was 63 and afraid to help? Guessing he couldn't swim also. The brother in law hesitated to help because of a particularly strong current in a canal? The body was found next to the pier, meaning no strong current.  No one teaching them swimming as a child claims people almost daily here.

 

You should never try to rescue a drowning person (exception perhaps: small child) unless you have a floatation device with you to keep between them and you to assist them with. Or they WILL take you down with them. 

 

The old guy was right whether or not he couldn't swim (which in LOS he probably couldn't).

 

The lack of swimming training in Thai schools is a catastrophe. Drowning used to be the biggest killer of children in the UK before they started teaching us at school. Very rare occurrence now. See it all too often in Thai news though.

 

All it took was an easily installed solid plastic type tank, 3'6" deep, 15x20 meters, and some changing rooms with benches and lockers. Oh yeah, and a pile of plastifoam floats. So cheap. So easy to install. Junior school, aged 8. But younger were taught. Can't remember feeling cold so it must have been heated in some way.

 

They taught hundreds of us through the years. I went on to be a competition swimmer and diver.

Edited September 24, 20241 yr by BusyB

Life vests? 

14 hours ago, nakhonandy said:

The row boat sped across to the pier? A rowboat can't speed across normally. It sounds like the usual negligence. 

 

Having been both a speedboat operator and a rowboat/canoe/kayak operator, I can confirm that rowboats can change direction on a dime, and speedboats can't.  It's not unusual for a slow boat to change direction unexpectedly and turn into the path of a speedboat, causing all kinds of problems.  (It's the same with bicycles and cars)

 

Regarding the semantics, it's probably an article from a source that's been translated to English, So I wouldn't get bent out of shape over word choice.

 

Edited September 24, 20241 yr by impulse