Two Dead After Crane Strikes Power Line During Flood Rescue
A crane operator and homeowner died after the crane's boom struck power lines during a flood rescue in Samut Prakan on September 27, electrocuting both men as they attempted to move a submerged vehicle to safety.
Heavy rain flooded a residential community in Samut Prakan. A man hired a six-wheel crane to lift his sedan to higher ground to escape the floodwaters. As the crane lifted the vehicle, its boom struck overhead electrical lines in front of a house, electrocuting the crane operator. The homeowner rushed to help but was also struck by electricity and fell into the floodwater. Both men died.
On September 27, 2026, Deputy Superintendent Saranyu Ma-saeng of Bang Kaew Police Station, Samut Prakan province, responded to a report of deaths and injuries from electrocution at a residential house in Bang Phli Yai subdistrict, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province. He coordinated with Rama Thibodi Chakri Naruebet Hospital and volunteer rescue units to attend the scene.
Floodwaters in the community exceeded 1.2 meters in depth. Authorities used elevated vehicles to navigate the flooded area. Inside the house, officers found the body of a 40-year-old homeowner, whom neighbors helped retrieve from the water and placed outside the house. A 31-year-old crane driver from Phra Pradaeng district, Samut Prakan province, suffered severe electrocution. Rescuers immediately performed CPR and transferred him to Chulalongkorn Hospital 9, but he succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival.
The homeowner's wife recounted that her husband had hired the crane to move their sedan, which was submerged in floodwater in front of the house, to higher ground. As the crane lifted the car, the boom struck the electrical lines in front of the house, causing the crane operator to be electrocuted. Her husband, standing nearby, rushed to help but was also electrocuted and pulled into the floodwater along with the operator. She quickly called the power company to shut off the electricity, but it was too late to save her husband.
Authorities transported both bodies to the forensic unit at Rama Thibodi Chakri Naruebet Hospital and initiated a legal investigation.
