Tragic: Siblings Aged 8-9 Drown While Swimming to Retrieve Helmet from Pond; Grandmother Grieves Heartbrokenly

Two siblings drowned in a pond while attempting to retrieve a motorcycle helmet on May 11, 2569 (2026) at 5:00 PM near Maliwat Village in Tha Khai subdistrict, Muang district, Chachoengsao province. Emergency personnel, including rescue workers and police from Muang Chachoengsao station, recovered the bodies of Suphanat (9 years old), a student at Wat Pratu Nam Tha Khai School, and his younger sister Suphacha (8 years old) from a pond deeper than 2 meters. Their grandmother and aunt were found weeping uncontrollably at the scene.

Rescue unit leader Pairot Bunhiran revealed that the first body discovered was the 9-year-old boy floating near the bottom of the pond, while the 8-year-old girl's body was found approximately 3 meters away, still submerged at the pond's bottom. A traffic police officer, Thanawat Suthewei, who happened to be passing by, immediately jumped into the water to help search and rescue, though his efforts came too late.

According to a 6-year-old witness named Je, the children had been playing in the water since morning at the shallow end of the pond. When a motorcycle helmet floated to the middle of the pond, the two siblings decided to swim out and retrieve it before both disappeared underwater. The young witness, who could swim, quickly returned to shore and waited in confusion about why his friends did not resurface, until adults arrived searching for them.

Suthathip, 34, the children's aunt, revealed they had been under her and their grandmother's care since their parents separated when they were very young. She emphasized that she and her mother regularly warned and scolded the children against playing in this area, as they worked from early morning. The family has not yet determined the exact cause of death, and authorities have handed over the bodies to the rescue team for religious ceremonies at Laem Tae Temple.