Flooded Tunnel: A Bangkok motorist drowned early Thursday after her pickup truck stalled in rapidly rising floodwaters in an underpass leading to her housing estate and then engulfed the vehicle.
Rescue workers from the Por Tek Tueng Foundation were soon after 2am on the scene on a motorway frontage road near the Airport Rail Link’s Ban Thap Chang station.
Pol Lt Col Thanapol Chalermpermpol of Prawet precinct said Panumat Sae-tsae, 41, drowned inside the pickup in 2.5 metres of water.
Panumat’s relatives told police she knew the tunnel was flooded but thought she could get through. The water rose rapidly, though, apparently because a water pump was out of order.
When her engine stalled, she called home for help, only for the water to submerge the vehicle.
Panumat’s family paid workers to dive to her rescue but they were unable to get to her in time.
Rescue workers finally retrieved the body at 5.30am and took it to Police Hospital for an autopsy.
