Nong Fluke was found missing after enjoying the water with his relatives at Suan Son Praditpat Beach, Hua Hin. Due to strong waves, he was swept away from the shore. The relevant authorities are now searching for his body.
At 3:00 PM on May 2, 2022, Hua Hin Police Station was informed that there were children swimming in the sea at Suan Son Pradipat Beach, Nong Kae Subdistrict, Hua Hin District; however, one of them then disappeared. Sawang Hua Hin Thammasat Foundation was coordinated to dive into the search among the strong waves with General Krit Phuangwalaisin, Hua Hin District Chief. The Hua Hin Tourist Police, Hua Hin police station, soldiers from Lop Buri province, and volunteers had been searching both north and south for more than 2 hours, but he was not found yet.
Mr. Polkit said from asking Ms. Juthamas Butsrimuang, the aunt of Nong Fluke, the missing kid, that he was her nephew named Nattharat Sala-ngam, 14 years old. All 8 of them traveled from Samut Sakhon to Hua Hin for the holidays. They arrived at around 9 AM and sat down to eat and rest as usual. Nong Fluke, 14, and Mana, 12, invited them to swim. At noon, they came up to eat with the family and went back to swim. After a little while, Nong Mana came up reporting to the family that Nong Fluke was drowning. The staff then coordinated the jet skis to search for waterways and by land the officers to search for details, but still, they could not find him. The police then contacted Sawang Hua Hin Thammasathan Rescue Service to assist in the search.
According to the data during the past 10 years (2012-2021), 7,374 children under 15 years of age drowned, an average of 737 cases per year or 2 per day. The Office of the Permanent Secretary for Public Health found that in 2021 alone, 219 children under 5 years of age drowned, accounting for 33.3 percent of all drowning deaths among children under 15 years of age. Recently, the authorities of Hua Hin organized workshops to educate young kids on how to prevent drowning and injuries to raise awareness of how serious the issues were.
