Search teams recovered the bodies of a mother and her daughter in Thong Pha Phum district, Kanchanaburi, yesterday after floodwaters swept their pickup off a road on September 27.
The incident happened at about 5pm on a road in Chalae subdistrict, where fast-moving floodwater swept the pickup off the road and into the current.
Residents and officials at the scene managed to rescue two men from the vehicle, but the mother, 55 year old Tong, and her 12 year old daughter were swept away.
A joint search was launched on the same day by district officials, national park personnel, police, rescue volunteers and residents.
Teams searched continuously until about 10pm, when the operation was suspended because of darkness and the strength of the runoff. Conditions were considered too dangerous.
The operation resumed yesterday morning, September 28, when a temporary command centre was established in the area.
The remote terrain complicated the operation. Mobile phone and internet signals were unavailable in the area, leaving teams dependent on radio communication.
Searchers continued checking the route of the floodwater through the day.
At about 3pm, teams searching downstream through fallen trees and debris found the 12 year old girl lying on her back beneath tree branches. She was about 300 metres from the point where the pickup had been swept from the road.
Search personnel carried her body back to the temporary command centre. The recovery took time because crews had to move through difficult terrain and flowing water.
Teams then continued searching for the mother, Tong.
At about 6pm, they found her body around 10 metres from where her daughter had been recovered.
Tong was also found lying on her back beneath a large tree branch. She had been swept about 300 metres from the original incident site. Crews cleared debris and branches before carrying her out of the area.
After both bodies were recovered, investigators from Thong Pha Phum Police Station and doctors at Thong Pha Phum Hospital were notified.
Rescue workers then transported the mother and daughter to Thong Pha Phum Hospital for post-mortem examinations to determine the cause of death.
At 1.30am today, September 29, officials transported both bodies to the family home in Chalae subdistrict for religious rites.
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The story Kanchanaburi flood kills mother, daughter after pickup swept away as seen on Thaiger News.
