Thread: 1 drowns, 4 missing after boat capsizes on Sirikit reservoir

One passenger drowned and four others remain missing after their boat hit a submerged tree stump and capsized on Sirikit reservoir in Tha Pla district of Thailand’s northern province of Uttradit.

Rescue workers managed to pull five other passengers and the boat’s skipper from the water, but 4 are missing and one body has since been recovered from the water.


The boat was leaving Ban Huay Ta village in Tha Pla district, carrying 10 passengers and a car, bound for Ban Tha Rua when it struck the stump as it approached the Koh Men and Koh Tao islets.


The director of Phrae provincial marine office said that the water level in the reservoir has dropped substantially and the boat skipper may have lost track of the navigational route, causing the vessel to hit the submerged obstacle.

1 drowns, 4 missing after boat capsizes on Sirikit reservoir – Thai PBS World

Originally Posted by misskit

The director of Phrae provincial marine office said that the water level in the reservoir has dropped substantially and the boat skipper may have lost track of the navigational route, causing the vessel to hit the submerged obstacle.

1 drowns, 4 missing after boat capsizes on Sirikit reservoir – Thai PBS World

He was going too fast then.

If you are not　sure　of　the　depth　of　the　water　you　should　alwa ys　go　slow,　expecting　the　possibility　of running aground, or hitting something - such a submerged tree trunk.

Having spent much of my youth around boats, I feel that the many boat accidents in Thailand are quite often avoidable if the basic rules were followed.

Rules and common sense are no more utilised on the waterways than they are on the roads.

Originally Posted by Wally Dorian Raffles

Having spent much of my youth around boats, I feel that the many boat accidents in Thailand are quite often avoidable if the basic rules were followed.

Isn't this true of most accidents involving human error around the world on road, on water and in the air?

Seems that if the water was so shallow the passengers should have been able to swim to safety.

Do a lot of Thai people lack swimming skills, or did the jolt from hitting the stump knock people out?

What a tragedy.

7' is shallow for a reservoir, but still enough to take out every non-swimmer.

Originally Posted by TTraveler

Do a lot of Thai people lack swimming skills

Yes.
Lack of facilities, especially at schools.

Bush dwellers do not swim. Most villagers in the boonies never learn not least because there is neither opportunity nor motivation.