Two 13-Year-Old Boys Drown in Swimming Incident at Loei Weir

Picture from responders.

A day of play ended in heartbreak after two 13-year-old boys drowned while swimming in a weir in Wang Saphung district, Loei province. The incident unfolded in front of horrified friends and others, who could only watch as rescue teams battled currents and rain to recover the boys’ bodies.

Police Lieutenant Nathakamon Thaoklang of Wang Saphung Police Station received the distress call at around 15:30 on 7 April. Emergency services, including local disaster prevention officers and volunteers from the Sawang Kheereetham Rescue Foundation, rushed to the scene at the rubber weir on the Loei River, located in front of the revered Chao Pho Si Songkhram shrine.

At the scene, clothes and mobile phones belonging to the boys were found on the riverbank. Rescue divers began searching the deep, fast-flowing, and murky waters despite persistent rain.

At approximately 17:00 the body of Attaphan, aged 13, was recovered and brought ashore, where his grieving mother and family waited in anguish. 

Rescue operations intensified with the arrival of more volunteer divers. At around 19:30, the body of the second victim, Ekaphon, also 13, was recovered.

A surviving friend, Noppamongkol, also 13, recounted the harrowing events. He explained that four boys had come to play in the water that afternoon. While one stayed near the bank, the others, including the two victims, jumped into the deep waters near the top of the weir. Neither of the deceased boys could swim. As they struggled, Noppamongkol cried for help, attracting the attention of a nearby group of teenagers who managed to save him, but were too late to rescue the others.

-- 2025-04-09