Worker, 50, Drowns Under Tree After Dike Collapse
A 50-year-old worker drowned when a dike collapsed in a Nakhon Pathom coconut plantation on Oct 30, trapping him
On October 30, 2026, Pol. Lt. Col. Kittisak Phunil, duty investigator at Sam Phran Police Station, Nakhon Pathom, received a report of a person drowning in a fast-flowing, eroded water channel that caused a dike to collapse. The incident occurred in Moo 3, Sam Phran subdistrict, Sam Phran district, Nakhon Pathom. Officers responded with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.
The scene was a flooded 9-rai coconut plantation where a water barrier nearly three meters high had given way. Rescuers had to boat more than 100 meters through difficult conditions to reach the site, a six-meter-wide breach in the plantation's perimeter dike. Divers searched extensively until they found the victim's body trapped under a tree underwater; it took 20 minutes to bring the body to the surface.
The deceased was identified as Sanit, 50. The plantation owner, 79-year-old 'Uncle Lek', said seawater had been surging up the Tha Chin River in large volumes recently. He had hired the victim and two other workers, making a team of four including himself, to dredge soil and build a barrier to protect the plantation and nearby houses. Today the water level was unusually high; the barrier could not withstand the current and collapsed, scattering everyone in different directions. The victim was caught under a tree and disappeared beneath the water. Uncle Lek was swept more than 10 meters away but survived.
Police have inspected the scene and interviewed all witnesses. The body has been sent for autopsy at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Siriraj Hospital. If no foul play is found and the results match witness accounts and scientific evidence, the body will be released to relatives for religious rites.
