Pattaya floods leave one foreign man missing on Thursday
Pattaya rescuers searched for a missing foreign man on September 24 after two companions were saved during widespread overnight flooding.
- A foreign man is missing in Pattaya after being swept away by a strong current in a drainage canal on Thursday.
- The man was part of a group of three foreigners walking through floodwaters; the other two were rescued.
- The incident occurred after heavy overnight rain caused widespread flooding across the city, creating dangerous currents.
- Rescue teams are actively searching for the missing man, whose identity and nationality have not yet been officially confirmed.
Rescuers from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation were searching for a foreign man swept away in a Pattaya drainage canal on Thursday (September 24, 2026), after heavy overnight rain flooded the city and surrounding areas. Two other men in the group were brought to safety.
Sawang Boriboon rescuers were alerted at about 5am local time to people falling into a canal in Soi Map Yai Lia 45, in the Noen Phlap Wan area of Nong Prue subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi. The surrounding area was flooded and the canal was carrying a strong current. Initial accounts suggested the three foreign men had been walking through floodwater and might not have realised the route crossed a bridge over the canal.
Witness says two men fell into Pattaya canal
Thikon Thongkanlueang, a 17-year-old witness, said two of the three men fell into the canal in Noen Phlap Wan, while the third managed to cling to the bridge railing. Thikon said he pulled one of the men from the water, but the other was swept away.
Thikon confirmed that two members of the group were brought to safety, although he did not know where the rescued men went afterwards.
Pattaya CCTV timestamp does not reflect incident time
CCTV footage from a house beside the Pattaya canal carried a timestamp of 7.50am, but the camera clock was incorrect and did not reflect the actual time of the incident.
The canal-side recording reportedly showed a man in a white shirt and another in black walking with their arms around each other’s shoulders, while a third man, also wearing black, followed holding an umbrella. The two men walking together fell into the canal. The man in black was rescued, while the man in white was swept away.
Overnight rain floods Pattaya roads and nightlife areas
Heavy rain began at about 11pm on September 23 and continued into the morning, causing flooding across Pattaya. Pattaya Third Road, the railway-side road, Soi Buakhao and the Walking Street area in South Pattaya were among the affected locations.
Run-off from higher ground in Pong and Nong Prue subdistricts flowed into Pattaya’s drainage network, with water accumulating throughout the night and strong currents developing along several roads and canals. Some tourists had to walk through rain and standing water to reach their accommodation after Pattaya’s nightlife venues closed.
Sawang Boriboon rescue teams were mobilising to search along the canal, with continuing rain, large volumes of water and strong currents requiring caution. Officials were still checking the missing foreign man’s identity and nationality. Witnesses thought the three men might be Korean, but that had not been officially confirmed.
