A man aged 35 and a seven-year-old boy lost their lives in a jet ski accident yesterday at Pattaya Beach, Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri province, in eastern Thailand.
At 7pm, Pattaya City Police Station officers received information about an overturned jet ski in the ocean close to Soi 14’s entrance, with two individuals gone missing.
Police, along with physicians from Bangkok Hospital and personnel from the Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation, promptly arrived at the location.
Pathomphon Phonrat, the seven-year-old, was found unconscious and gravely injured when pulled from the water. Blood poured from his mouth, and his neck and jaw were fractured and bruised, according to ThaiRath.
Rescuers performed CPR on the boy and transported him to Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya, where he tragically succumbed to his injuries at 10:10pm. The cause of death was determined to be a broken neck and jawbone.
A blue Yamaha jet ski was discovered on the beach, and police learned that the 35-year-old operator, Pornsuphan Phumnok, was still missing at sea after the incident.
Within an hour, the search team located Pornsuphan’s body floating facedown approximately 50 meters from the coastline. He had sustained serious injuries to his eyebrows, below his left eye, and on his lips.
Tony, a 37-year-old Vietnamese man who rents beach umbrellas, witnessed the event. He was tidying up the beach when he observed the man take the child for a ride on his jet ski.
He saw the jet ski made a sudden turn and capsized about 30 meters from the shore. Both the man and the boy were thrown into the air and collided with the side of the jet ski.
Tony immediately hopped on a jet ski to locate the child, who was floating in the water wearing a life jacket, but the driver could not be found. He assisted in bringing the unconscious boy to land and alerted officials for help.
Autopsies were performed on both bodies at the Forensic Institute before being returned to their respective families.
