Thai exchange student drowns trying to save his friend at U.S. beach

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Thai exchange student drowns trying to save his friend at U.S. beach

By Coconuts Bangkok 

 

 

Thousand miles from his home in Thailand’s Phitsanulok province, exchange student Sirawich “Jo” Chantaburanan, 18, drowned on Tuesday in an attempt to save another unnamed exchange student at Frisco Beach, North Carolina.

 

Jo, a junior at Pennsylvania’s State College Area High School, in the town of State College, took a vacation to the beach with his friends and one of the boys’ host family. On Tuesday afternoon, Jo went out into the water on his boogie board to help one of his friends, who returned to shore safely, but Jo did not.

 

Authorities said Jo’s boogie board washed up on shore, and rescue personnel began searching for him.

 

Jo’s body was discovered Wednesday morning, reported Centre Daily.

 

Full story: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/thai-exchange-student-drowns-trying-save-friend-u-s-beach/

 

-- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2017-06-08

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Thai exchange student who drowned helping friend called a hero
By Mongkolchaowarat Tangmangmee
The Nation

 

 

The Phitsanulok-based Buddhachinaraj Rotary Club has praised the heroic action of an exchange student it sponsored in sacrificing his own life to save another.

 

Sirawich “Jo” Chanthaburanan, 18, drowned in waters off Cape Hatteras in the US state of North Carolina on Tuesday after venturing out on his boogie board to urge a fellow exchange student to return to the safety of shore.

 

The second youth, a Belgian, made it back to shore.

 

Calling Sirawich’s actions heroic, Rotary Club president Anoma Maklin said on Thursday the club had followed the news closely after hearing he’d gone missing in the ocean riptide.

 

Upon hearing that the body had been recovered the next day, the club extended condolences to his family. Sirawich was their only son. 

 

Anoma said the club was making arrangements to have the teen’s body returned to Thailand and to Phitsanulok. 

 

The Phitsanulok Phittayakhom School student had been on an exchange programme attending State College Area High School since last July. He was one of eight Thai students the Buddhachinaraj Rotary Club had sent to the United States in exchange for eight American students attending school here.

 

Anoma said the club was told that Sirawich, whom she characterised as a good-natured youth who loved to help others, had drowned while trying to save another person’s life.

 

Naiyana Khomsan, head of Rotary International District 3360’s student-exchange programme, issued a statement on Wednesday extending condolences to the family. The programme would help with funeral arrangements and an insurance company would take care of bringing the body back to Thailand, Naiyana said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30317543

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-08

[Scott]

My condolences to the family and friends.   A tragic loss of life.  

[hobobo]

R.I.P

Condolences to friends and family

[Kabula]

I've often wondered why the good Samaritan in many cases, seems to get injured or die?

[kamahele]

24 minutes ago, Kabula said:

I've often wondered why the good Samaritan in many cases, seems to get injured or die?

Very often the case, yes. Sad for both families.

[morrobay]

18 minutes ago, Kabula said:

I've often wondered why the good Samaritan in many cases, seems to get injured or die?

In this case the student was from an inland area in Northern Thailand . Most likely his first encounter in waves. Also Thais are not swimmers  and drown as do the Russians and Scandnavians do in Phuket.

Evidently the conditions were bad for "some" at that beach that day that prompted him to warn someone to come in.

If he did not have fins on and lost his board then he could have easily gotten into trouble 

 

 

[cardinalblue]

Wonder what the full story is...this beach not have lifeguards?

 

big difference between rescue and  warning someone...

 

US articles say was he seen slipping off his board and didn't re-surface and wasn't wearing a life vest....

 

articles dont state his swimming abilities...say Belgium boy made it back to shore...

 

doesnt state whether belgium boy was in trouble or not or even knew what the status of his friend was....

 

says there was a third friend on shore hence what the Thai boy was trying to do

 

 

Edited June 8, 2017 by cardinalblue

[Keesters]

Heroic gesture that went sadly wrong.

 

RIP.

 

 

[steven100]

really sad ....  at 18yrs and quite handsome ....    poor boy at the prime of his life.

RIP ...  you were a good kid.