Rescue Team Struggles to Transport 314kg Man to Hospital

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture from responders.

 

A volunteer rescue team faced a major challenge when attempting to transport a 30-year-old man weighing 314kg to hospital after he suffered from exhaustion, fever, and weakness.

 

The incident occurred on 6 February at a house in Soi Wachirathamsathit 17, Sukhumvit 101/1, in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong district. The man, who has long struggled with severe obesity, required medical care at Sirindhorn Hospital and needed immediate assistance due to breathing difficulties and fatigue.

 

Phongsit Rakkapao, a 29-year-old volunteer from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation’s Bang Na unit, said that upon receiving the emergency call, rescuers arrived to find the man in distress. “He was extremely weak, and moving him was a huge challenge,” Phongsit explained. The team initially requested an Erawan emergency vehicle to assist, but due to his size, they were unable to lift him into the ambulance.

 

A pickup truck was then called in as an alternative, but the patient’s condition made even minor movements difficult. As a last resort, the team asked the man’s father if he knew anyone with a truck having a sliding loading bed. Fortunately, a neighbour was able to provide one.

 

After a gruelling rescue effort lasting four hours, the team carefully manoeuvred the patient onto the slide truck and transported him to Sirindhorn Hospital. Doctors were reportedly shocked by his condition, having never encountered a patient of his weight. However, initial reports from the hospital indicate that his condition is improving.

 

The man’s father, Prayong, 72, revealed that his son had started gaining excessive weight at around the age of four and had never received medical treatment apart from for high blood pressure. He works from home as a craftsman making amulet frames and has led a sedentary lifestyle.

 

Now that he has been admitted to hospital, his father hopes that he will begin a weight-loss programme, incorporating exercise and dietary control. “We are very grateful to the rescue team for their dedication and patience in getting my son to hospital,” Prayong said.

 

-- 2025-02-08