Police Helicopter Evacuates Injured Toddler from Flooded Sanctuary
The article is about a police helicopter evacuating an injured 3-year-old boy from a flooded, remote wildlife sanctuary in Kanchanaburi. Key details: who (3-year-old boy), what (motorcycle accident, suspected femur fracture, head abrasions)
On October 20, 2026, Sangkhla Buri Hospital in Kanchanaburi reported that a Royal Thai Police Aviation Division Bell 429 helicopter conducted a mission to evacuate a three-year-old boy who had been in a motorcycle accident, suffering a suspected femur fracture, head abrasions, and urinary retention. The incident occurred in Ban Ja Kae, Lai Wo subdistrict, Sangkhla Buri district, deep in the western section of the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. The child was transported to Phahon Phonphayuhasena Hospital because vehicles could not reach the area due to floodwaters cutting across roads, making air transport the only way to provide timely assistance. The boy had initially been treated with local herbal remedies before a request for air evacuation was coordinated.
The Ramathibodi Chakri Naruebodin Hospital Emergency Medical Operations Center reported on October 19 regarding the CNHEMS Sky Doctor mission to evacuate the three-year-old motorcycle accident victim with suspected femur fracture, head abrasions, and urinary retention to Phahon Phonphayuhasena Hospital via Bell 429 helicopter. The aircraft departed from the Ta Raeng police aviation base at 14:00, reached the patient, and delivered him to the hospital by 18:40.
The CNHEMS team consisted of Asst. Prof. Dr. Sittichok Leelamornsin, Dr. Chawin Trikajjananant, and paramedic Abdulwahed Masong. The police aviation crew comprised Pol. Lt. Col. Tattakitti Chiewchan and Pol. Sgt. Maj. Jenwith Maniphon piloting the Bell 429. Supporting agencies included the Kanchanaburi Provincial 1669 Command Center, Sangkhla Buri Hospital, Khao Khun Phaibul Phanom Thuan Hospital, Naresuan Center, National Institute of Emergency Medicine, and Surashee District Health Promotion Hospital.
This mission represented an integrated multi-agency effort to develop the aerial emergency medical system, increasing access to urgent care for patients in remote areas. The patient was successfully handed over to the receiving team, and the operation crew returned safely to the police aviation base by 20:00. It marked another important step in the first primary mission of the CNHEMS team in providing urgent emergency patient assistance.
Credit: Ramathibodi Chakri Naruebodin Hospital Emergency Medical Operations Center.
