An elderly man was trapped when part of his house fell into a rain-swollen river in Bang Rakam district on Thursday morning.
The 79-year-old was lucky to survive after the riverbank collapsed, plunging his house's kitchen into a rain-swollen Yom River.
Rescuers rushed to Ban Wang Ped village in tambon Bang Rakam around 6am after being alerted that an elderly man was floundering in chest-deep water, trapped in wreckage.
House owner Khua Meeyaem's legs were caught by a slab of concrete, part of the wall of his single-storey house. Local residents joined the rescue team in the race to save him. The river near the bankside quickly falls off to about 10 metres deep.
The muddy water made rescue difficult. An iron bar was used to lever the concrete slab from his legs. After an hour of sustained effort by rescuers, Mr Khua was released and pulled from the river. He had injuries to his left leg and was exhausted.
His 82-year-old wife, Luan Meeyaem, said it rained heavily overnight. She rose around 5am to cook rice and prepare food to give to monks.
She waited outside at the front of the house for the monks on their alms round. When her husband did not join her, she went to look for him in the bedroom. He was not there, so she went to look in the kitchen at the back of the house. She found that it had fallen into the river.
Her husband was still inside the structure, calling for help, she said in tears.
She rushed to get help from neighbours and called rescuers.
Tharadol Apijaree, deputy chief of Bang Rakam district, warned people living along the Yom River that more heavy rain was likely and they should be alert for riverbank subsidence and landslips.
