Kasetsart rector Bodin rescued after 20 hours lost at sea

Bodin was among a fleet of 50 competitors to ride jetskis from Toey Ngam Beach in Chon Buri’s Sattahip district to Ao Khao Takiab in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district on Sunday morning when he went missing at sea. 

His absence was noticed after the group arrived in Hua Hin at 1pm and a search launched immediately, but it had to be abandoned at around 11.45pm on Sunday due to poor visibility and strong winds and waves. 

Bodin was found drifting 16 nautical miles off the coast by trawler captain Sompol Permchit and his crew at 6am yesterday. After being taken to shore by the Tor 230 patrol boat of the Naval Security Unit at Klai Kangwon Palace yesterday, Bodin shared his 20-hour ordeal at sea with the reporters. 

He said strong winds and waves had knocked him off his jetski at around 11am on Sunday and nobody noticed he was gone due to the high waves. Unable to make his way back to shore as the jetski remained unreachable and eventually disappeared, he said he was kept afloat by the life jacket he wore. 

“At night, while floating in the sea, I saw a helicopter fly past over my head, but its searchlight missed me by 100 metres. I later found some driftwood, so I hung on to it until I was rescued by the trawler,” he said, adding he was thankful to all for ensuring his well-being. 

His relatives later yesterday got a Bangkok Hospital helicopter to pick him up for another health check, even though doctors at Hua Hin Hospital had declared that he was fine.