Rayong —
A 17-year-old girl tragically passed away after she went in search of clams in a small drainage pipe and suffocated.
The incident happened at 2 PM yesterday, April 16th, near 36 Road in the Thap Ma sub-district of Mueang district, Rayong province. Local rescuers rushed to the scene after a woman called to say that her daughter had crawled into a drainage pipe to look for clams and got stuck.
The mother, 37-year-old Mrs. Chandra, who goes by only one name and is a Cambodian worker, met with the rescuers at the scene and said her daughter did not emerge from the drain pipe during a fourth run to collect clams. The teen, whose name was withheld due to her age, had been collecting clams from the drain system all morning and had nearly filled an entire bucket’s worth already, but wanted to make one last run before returning home.
Mrs. Chandra had been waiting outside the pipe for her daughter.
The girl had been trapped in the storm drains for more than an hour before the rescue team arrived.
The rescue team ventured into the labyrinthian drain system and discovered that it was over 50 meters in length. After covering about 35 meters, they came across the girl’s unconscious body. Despite their efforts to save her, the girl was declared dead after 35 minutes of rescue operations.
Mrs. Chandra fainted when she was informed of her daughter’s fate. The girl’s body was transferred to Rayong Hospital for an autopsy.
It was unclear how she had perished in the tunnel and according to her mother the girl regularly crawled through drainage pipes collecting clams and shells and was experienced with the area.
Rescue teams, however, believe the young girl became stuck despite being familiar with the drain system and then suffocated. The rescue teams warned residents about exploring storm drains and pipes, stating these areas were too dangerous to look for food.
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