11-Year-Old Girl Drowns After Makeshift Boat Capsizes in Pond
An 11-year-old girl drowned in Udon Thani after a makeshift boat made from a car roof capsized while she and a friend were playing on a pond. Her friend managed to swim to safety, but the girl disappeared beneath the water and was later recovered by rescue divers. Police are investigating the incident.
Tragic: An 11-year-old girl invited a same-aged friend to a large pond, where they fashioned a car roof into a makeshift rowboat for fun. The boat capsized and sank, but the friend managed to swim ashore while the girl drowned. At 15:30 on October 10, 2026, Police Lieutenant Sarawut Surasang of Na Fha Police Station, Udon Thani Province, received a report of the girl's drowning death in a pond surrounded by rice fields in Na Kwang Subdistrict, Mueang District, Udon Thani. He coordinated with doctors from Udon Thani Hospital and rushed to the scene with rescuers from the Send Stam Tham Foundation of Udon Thani. The pond, about three metres deep, lay in the middle of a rice field. The foundation's dive team searched and recovered the girl's body from the water amid grief from her family and villagers. Preliminary investigation showed that before the accident the children went to the pond, decided to make a boat from a car roof, and went rowing. The boat overturned, throwing both children into the water. The girl disappeared beneath the surface, while her friend swam to safety. Authorities will continue the investigation and proceed according to law.
