Phrae - Two villagers buried alive after trying to drain water for crops
PHRAE / DESPERATE RICE FARMERS
Two villagers buried alive after trying to drain water for crops
TAWEESAK SUKKASEM
Phrae _ Two villagers were buried alive yesterday as they tried to drain water from an irrigation canal to feed their water-starved rice paddies in Song district.
Repeatedly hit by drought, around 20 paddy farmers decided to find their own solution by installing an underground water pipeline to draw water from the Royal Irrigation Department's irrigation canal for their farmland.
The villagers raised funds among themselves to buy a water pipeline and hire a backhoe to dig down into the soil so the pipeline could be laid.
"The villagers chose to work late at night as they feared being caught by authorities since draining water from a state waterway without permission is against the law," said Pol Lt-Col Chan Kanyamee from Song district police station.
After the backhoe had finished digging the ditch, some villagers went down into it to lay the pipeline. But a pile of soil near the ditch collapsed and buried Kasem Yarangsri, 49, and Charoen Techa, 50.
Kasem died on the way to hospital, while Charoen died at the scene.
Other villagers in the ditch at the time managed to survive.
Wattana Keerakajinda, the provincial irrigation chief, yesterday filed charges against the villagers for causing damage to state property and draining water from the irrigation canal without permission.
Bangkok Post
