A 57-year old woman is being hailed as a heroine by her neighbours and local officials for single-handledly rescuing a man trapped in an overturned pickup truck half-submerged in a swamp in Chiang Kham district of the northern province of Phayao on Saturday.
Mrs Pannee Saengsrichan, a villager of Ban Fang Waen, Tambon Chiangban, told reporters that while she was resting in her house, she heard ceaseless blaring of a car horn and went out to find out what was happening.
She headed toward the source of the noise and saw a white pickup truck half-submerged belly up in a swamp. She said she noticed there was a man inside and quickly rushed back to her house to grab a hammer and waded into the muddy swamp.
She said she smashed through the windshield with the hammer and then helped drag the driver, a man identified later as Suthod Wan-on, a native of Udon Thani, out of the truck to safety.
Later, neighbours alerted rescue workers who arrived at the scene to give first aid treatment to the driver who was safe and unscathed.
The driver later said he lost control of his car after he tried to avoid hitting a dog. He added that he tried to get out of the car but could not open the doors until the arrival of his rescuer who smashed through the windshield and helped him out.
