Accident Tourists Rescued After GPS Leads Them into Cornfield in Rain-Soaked Nakhon Ratchasima

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

Two female tourists from Bangkok found themselves stranded in the middle of a muddy cornfield in Wang Nam Khiao District, Nakhon Ratchasima, after blindly following GPS directions during heavy rain on the night of 26 July. The pair had become lost near Pha Chom Tawan in Thai Samakkhi Subdistrict when their car became bogged down in thick mud, prompting a challenging late-night rescue.

 

At around 21:20, local rescue workers from Hook 31 Emergency Services received a call for assistance. The rescue was initiated after a nearby resort staff member managed to contact emergency services on the tourists’ behalf, as mobile phone signal in the area was weak and intermittent.

 

Two rescue teams were dispatched to the remote site. Their journey was hindered by darkness, narrow farm tracks and persistent rainfall, which had turned the dirt roads into muddy traps. Cornfields lined both sides of the route, making the road nearly indistinguishable. It took nearly an hour for rescuers to reach the women.

 

Upon arrival, the rescue team encountered the two tourists walking in the dark under umbrellas. They were then led to their vehicle, a Ford, which was stuck with its rear end off the track and mired in deep mud. The team spent considerable time and effort extricating the vehicle, working in difficult conditions that left them exhausted and covered in mud.

 

The tourists explained they had travelled from Bangkok to attend a live music event at a local venue in Wang Nam Khiao. They had been relying on their GPS system, which led them off the main road and into a sparsely populated agricultural area. As visibility worsened and both sides of the road became nothing but cornfields, they tried to turn back. However, the rain-slicked surface caused the vehicle to slip into a ditch and become stuck.

 

With limited mobile reception, they were unable to call for help themselves. Their fortunate encounter with the resort employee, who had stronger signal and called rescuers, likely prevented them from spending the night stranded in the field.

 

Following the rescue, one of the women shared their experience on Facebook, thanking both the rescue team and resort staff. Her post ended on a light-hearted note: “We planned to see a concert, but ended up in a disaster zone instead — haha! But it was fun, exciting, and definitely a life experience. When GPS takes you for an unexpected adventure… almost ended up sleeping in a cornfield!”

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khoasod 2025-07-28

 

 

 

[Jim Blue]

Now I know what the "A" in A1 stands for !

[Gsxrnz]

GPS, and women still can't read a map. 

[JoePai]

Thai version of 'blondes' ?

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, JoePai said:

Thai version of 'blondes' ?

Don't be too harsh 😁

Even professional (trailer) truckers end up in dead end streets, small mountain dirt roads etc.

All read over the years in Europe.

The religious belief in GPS.

 

[KhunBENQ]

Example from my experience near Udon Thani.

Google suggested this as first choice:

 

Yes I arrived but believe me that I should have had an off road vehicle not a small limousine. Bumpy dirt road, driving over a weir.

 

The correct and safe path is this with a detour via a U-turn.

 

The first choice is still shown as now.