Accident Cambodian Man Electrocuted While Fishing, Relatives Attempt Sand Burial in Bid to Revive Him

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

A 32-year-old Cambodian migrant worker died after being electrocuted while using a makeshift fish-stunning device near an irrigation canal in Chonburi province. Despite 30 minutes of resuscitation attempts by emergency services, the man could not be saved. In a display of misplaced faith in folklore, his grieving friends and wife attempted to bury his body in sand, believing it would draw out the remaining electricity and revive him.

 

The incident occurred in Sra Si Liam subdistrict, Phanat Nikhom district, close to Wat Laem Pradu. The victim, dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt and trousers, was found unconscious and soaking wet beside the canal. According to rescue workers, he had been using an improvised electrofishing device, and created from a car battery connected via wires to a bamboo pole, when he suffered a fatal electric shock and collapsed into the water.

 

Emergency responders arrived quickly and began CPR, administering chest compressions and using a defibrillator (AED) for half an hour. Despite their efforts, paramedics from Panat Nikhom Hospital were forced to pronounce the man dead at the scene.

 

However, the man’s Cambodian wife and colleagues refused to believe he had died. Drawing on a long-standing belief common in parts of Cambodia, they laid his body flat on a pile of sand and covered it completely, convinced the sand would extract residual electricity and restore life. Though emergency personnel explained there was no scientific basis for such actions, the bereaved family insisted on carrying out the ritual. Only after further confirmation by police that the man was truly deceased did they consent to have the body transported for autopsy.

 

The belief in using sand to “absorb electricity” from a person who has been electrocuted first gained widespread attention on social media back in 2015 and is rooted in traditional Cambodian practices.

 

Associate Professor Dr Jessada Denduangboripant, a lecturer in biology at Chulalongkorn University, publicly addressed the issue, warning that such beliefs were dangerous and could lead to preventable deaths.

 

“By the time a person has collapsed from an electric shock, the current has already passed through the body,” Dr Jessada explained. “There is no remaining electricity to be ‘drawn out’ by sand or any other material. CPR must be administered immediately to have any chance of saving a life.”

 

Dr Jessada also highlighted similar misconceptions in Thailand, such as placing electrocuted victims on zinc sheets to draw out electricity, another ineffective and potentially harmful practice.

 

Police from Phanat Nikhom Station collected the homemade fishing device as evidence. Preliminary findings suggest the man was electrocuted due to leakage from the improvised electrical setup while fishing alone by the canal. Friends nearby found him unconscious and called for help, but it was too late.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-05-23.

 

 

 

[JoePai]

So the poor bugger died then, just to make sure, the family bury him in sand ??