Swedish Hero Dies Rescuing Thai Boy

PALIANG: -- Thomas Isaksen 39 years from Sweden, died on 19 April 2010 in Paliang in Trang Province in Thailand while trying to rescue his neighbours 3 year old son, Mio, who had fallen into a well that was being dug in the village.

According to the police, who went to the scene, the 3 year old had played near the 10 meter deep well when he fell into the hole. At first, Mr. Vishnu Sugar, the 24 years old uncle of Mio had tried to rescue the child by going down by a rope into the well. But he had no strength to climb back up with the child.

Swedish Thomas Isaksen then offered to go down to pull out the two people trapped in the well. Thomas Isaksen lived in the village with his 33 year old Thai wife Nattika Suwanvela. But when he reached the bottom of the well, the oxygen had been so depleted, that he couldn't breathe and he apparently died from lack of oxygen.

Source: scandasia.com

-- 2010-04-20

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Tragic. So what happened to the boy and the other man ? I take it they suffered the same fate.

Very Sad

RIP

A sad end for a good man. May he rest in peace.

alot of other threads on here the term hero is used like it is word of the week.

in relation to this guy in the OP, the term seems appropriate. RIP

Sad story, but what happened with the boy and his uncle??

As i read the report, they were also on the ground of the hole.

although this a very sad story i find it hard to believe he died from lack of oxygen in a well only 10m deep...where i am well diggers dig wells to more than 20m depth and dont die from lack of oxygen

Exactly, that was the first question that came to my head... what happened to the boy and the uncle?

The report isn't very clear...

Anyway, RIP...

Why didnt the uncle fix the boy with the rope, so that other people could pull him out?Easy to do with a 3 vear old.

Not necessary to "climb up" with the boy.

I hope the embassy will be involved to find out how it really happened.

maybe heart attack!

May I offer my sincere condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Thomas Isaksen.

Very sad story, condolences to the loved ones of Thomas Isaksen.

Most likely the well had methane gas in it which is heavier than air. This happens more often than people would think, it's a tragedy every time, RIP.

Very sad indeed. Another tragic accident that could have been prevented, by fencing the hole or by covering it to prevent someone from falling in. Condolences to the families...

There is no greater sacrifice... and he will reap the karmic rewards - RIP

Yep my guess is it is methane gas. Very common. Sometimes near whole families perish as they keep going down to rescue the others before they realise its gas.

A very tragic story. My condolences to the friends and family of the deceased.

Pardon my ignorance, but, like a previous poster, no oxygen at 10 metres. I find this hard to believe. Also, to a previous poster, methane gas at 10 metres, I find that a bit hard to believe as well.

I am not suggesting anything sinister, just happy to learn from anyone on TV, who is in this type of industry, the possibilities of no oxygen at that depth and/or methane being present at that depth.

A previous post suggested a heart attack - this could be possible, but I doubt for all three victims (if the uncle and child died).

The story mentions it was a "well." Is it possible he/they drowned?

I was reading about this in the Thairath yesterday.

Sadly all 3 died. After the 3rd person went down the well and didn't return, no one else dared to go down there and the rescue services were called.

When they pulled the small boy out, they thought he might still be breathing since he had bubbles coming from his nose, but this wasn't to be.

Apparently the well was 1m in diameter and 7m deep and had only recently been excavated as a source of water. It had not had any safety wall put around it yet which is presumably how the boy fell in it, and seems to have been partially filled with water.

The rescue services used a large fan to aerate the well before they went down there, which would fit in with there being some gas in there.

Not sure if it was methane though, since at ambient temperature it's less dense than air.

http://www.thairath.co.th/content/region/77810

A very sad and tragic story - RIP. Condolences to the families of the little boy, the brave uncle and the brave swedish man.

A very sad and tragic story - RIP. Condolences to the families of the little boy, the brave uncle and the brave swedish man.

very sad story, my condolence to Thamas family and friends. R.I.P

So sad indeed, may they all RIP...And heart felt sympathay to those left behind...

Possible that chemicals or other toxins being used or had been used in the ground leeching into the hole water, causing a gas off....hard to say without an O2 test..and other tests.

At the depth and diameter that has been reported, this is what is classed as a vessel entry, you need an airmover in there and BA sets worn to be safe, and not to mention the risk of collapse of the walls.....The boy and the other adult may have been dead even before the swedish man went in....so sad...God Bless him for trying tho..RIP

Very sad. My condolences to the friends and family of all the victims.

That's a good, respectful death for a Man.

RIP.

Hope the kid is OK, and his father will tell the story to him oneday when he's in proper age....

One of the few genuine sad farang death stories out there in Thailand. Condolences to everyone involved really. The man really did die a hero and there's no cynicism in that comment.

That's a good, respectful death for a Man.

RIP.

Hope the kid is OK, and his father will tell the story to him oneday when he's in proper age....

They are both dead.

Thank you katana for the extra information.

Most likely the well had methane gas in it which is heavier than air. This happens more often than people would think, it's a tragedy every time, RIP.

Yes some natural gas would be most suspect.

Especially in a newly dug well.

Very sad to lose a true hero such as this gentleman.

RIP Mr. Isaksen.

CO2 will do it. It's heavier than air. A narrow space 30' down with 3 people in it and little air circulation. Similar things happen to men working in boilers and tanks with narow openings.

CO2 will do it. It's heavier than air. A narrow space 30' down with 3 people in it and little air circulation. Similar things happen to men working in boilers and tanks with narow openings.

I'm with you on the CO2. I think the most likely cause of death.

Sad case, I don't expect people to take my word for the accident being methane gas related. The thing is this same thing happened a long time ago far from here in my past life. Matter of fact it happened a few times when I was a kid and I was always told it was methane gas. Seeing as how I'm not a forensic scientist on the scene I can't say for sure what happened to these unfortunates but I highly suspect it was methane gas based on my life experience which is considerable. I have also been sat down by an old man as a boy to have it explained to me and the only gas I was ever told was in a well was methane. May these three unfortunates rest in peace, whatever evil it was that took the life out of them.