Two Monks Electrocuted While Preparing for Songkran Festival in Buriram

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

An incident occurred on the afternoon of 4 April, at Wat Pho Yoi in Ban Yang Subdistrict, Lam Plai Mat District, Buriram Province, when three monks received electric shocks, while helping to set up decorations for an upcoming Songkran celebration. Two monks lost their lives, and one was injured.

 

At approximately 14:30, rescue officials received a distress call reporting that three monks had suffered the shocks while working with local villagers to erect bamboo poles intended to hold decorative flags and lighting around the temple’s floating pavilion, in preparation for Songkran festivities scheduled for April 13–15.

 

Eyewitnesses say the incident happened when a bamboo pole came into contact with a high-voltage power line. The pole, which may have still been damp from residual moisture and conducted electricity. Two of the monks collapsed immediately and lost consciousness, while the third, a 68-year-old senior monk known as Luang Pho Auey, suffered numbness in his limbs but survived.

 

Locals witnessing the incident rushed to perform CPR on the two unconscious monks and quickly alerted the local health centre and emergency services. The monks were taken to Lam Plai Mat Hospital, where medical personnel made every effort to resuscitate them, but sadly, both were pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

 

The deceased monks have been identified as Phra Natthaphum Saokeha, 25, who was ordained on March 16 and Phra Phanuphong Saokeha, 22, ordained on March 8. The two were cousins. Their deaths have cast a pall of sorrow over the temple and the local community, who had been eagerly preparing for the Songkran festival.

 

Luang Pho Auey, the surviving monk, recounted the incident with visible grief. “We were preparing the area with flags and decorations. The bamboo pole must have touched the high-voltage line. It happened so fast. I felt the shock too, but I managed to let go. The others weren’t so lucky.”

 

Mr. Sombun, a 62-year-old resident who witnessed the event, described the chaos and panic that ensued. “It was horrifying. We saw the two monks fall and tried everything to save them. We never thought it would end like this.”

 

-- 2025-04-05