Surat Thani villager missing after being swept away by flash floods
A villager was swept away by a strong current after swimming away from his house during flash floods in Surat Thani’s Phra Saeng district on Monday night. He remained missing early Tuesday morning.
Rescue officials and villagers searched for Arunrat Phetcharat, 55, for over six hours until they temporarily called it off at 3am on Tuesday.
Arunrat’s wife Pranee Phetcharat, 55, told police that the couple were trying to swim away from their home after flash floods hit Ban Tham Krob Nam village in Tambon Ban Sawan, Phra Saeng district at 9.30pm after torrential rain.
Pranee said heavy rains started at 6pm, with flood waters arriving after three hours and rising rapidly. They at first thought the water would soon recede but decided to swim away when it continued to rise, she said.
While swimming, they were hit by a strong current causing her to briefly submerge before grabbing a tree, but when she resurfaced Arunrat had disappeared.
The floodwaters also inundated the village’s main road and prompted eight monks at Ban Tham Krob monastic centre to flee.
The water receded after the rains stopped at 4am on Tuesday. The search for Arunrat is planned to resume later in the day.