Man survives four days trapped in Bangkok sewer
A MAN WAS RESCUED from a sewer in Ratchathewi district of Bangkok last Saturday (May 11), after reportedly being trapped for four days.
The Amarin radio centre received a report at 1:47pm that an unidentified man, aged about 40-50, had been found trapped in a sewer in Phetchaburi Soi 2.
The radio centre coordinated with the Phayathai fire station and rescue workers from the Poh Teck Foundation to provide assistance.
Rescuers opened the covered sewer pipe amid falling rain, allowing them to lower a ladder and help the man to safety.
Reporters on the scene noted that bystanders were heard shouting that the man had fallen in about four days earlier.
He was taken to Petcharavej Hospital for medical attention.
The man was found trapped in the sewer after a passerby heard him calling for help, said Pol Lt Col Chotpisit Narongsak, deputy chief of the Phayathai police station.
After questioning, the man was identified as Yosakorn Jannamsai, 44, from Chaiyaphum province.
Mr Yosakorn told police that he had hidden in the pipe to evade someone who was chasing him. He has no criminal record and works as a security guard, said Pol Lt Col Chotpisit.
Further investigation was required to verify his statement and whether drugs were involved, he added.
The incident came just a week after a 59-year-old man died after falling into a sevenmetre-deep manhole on a road divider in Lat Phrao district of Bangkok.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) issued an apology for the death, saying it had been using temporary wooden covers in some locations due to the theft of iron manhole covers.