Five family members drowned in the Mun River in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Surin on Monday evening, after they reportedly went to collect sand for use in the construction of their house.
The victims include the head of the family, 45-year-old Viriya Kadcha, his 23-year-old daughter Nutcharin and her two daughters and one son, aged from 8 to 14.
Viriya’s wife, Bang-on, told the media that she and some family members conducted a search after the five did not return home to Ban Kok Klang in Chumphon Buri sub-district in the evening. They found a small farm truck, clothes and sandals on the river bank and alerted the village headman.
Emergency teams from Surin and nearby Buri Ram province rushed to the scene for land and river searches. After about an hour they found five bodies together under the water in the middle of the river.
The remains of the victims were taken to a hospital for examination, which found no trace of wounds to indicate that they might have been assaulted. They were confirmed to have drowned and were subsequently taken to a monastery for funeral rites.
Police conjectured that the three children might have gone into the river to swim after collecting sand and were swept away by the strong currents, prompting the two adults to try to rescue them.
