South Korean man missing in Pattaya after falling into flooded canal amid record rains

A South Korean man went missing in Pattaya after falling into a swollen drainage canal during record rainfall that has battered Thailand for three consecutive days. Local police are tracking the whereabouts of two other South Korean men who were with him at the time.

According to Thai media outlet Daily News and others, the incident occurred around 5 a.m. Thursday in the Plap Wan area of Nong Prue subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi Province, when one of three South Korean men walking along a flooded road fell into a drainage canal.

The men had been traveling by taxi but got out and continued on foot after rising floodwaters made it impossible for the vehicle to proceed. During that walk, one man fell into a drainage waterway known as the Tayai Canal and was swept away by the strong current.

Closed-circuit television footage from the scene reportedly captured the three men walking along the inundated road and one of them being swept away. Local residents also witnessed the accident.

About 50 rescue workers from the Sawang Boribun Thammasathan Foundation in Pattaya searched for roughly 11 hours from early that morning but found no trace of the missing man.

As water levels in the canal began to drop in the afternoon, the rescue team conducted a thorough search on foot across the entire stretch and crawled through drainage tunnels, covering more than 3 kilometers in total — but the missing man was not found.

Police also searched what is believed to be the men's rented residence, located about 1 kilometer from the scene. Household items and computer equipment were found at the property.

Police seized the items but said it had not been confirmed whether the computers and servers were connected to any criminal activity. Investigators are looking into the origin and purpose of the equipment.

The three South Korean men had moved into the rental property on Sept. 12, about 12 days before the accident, after signing a one-year lease.

Nong Prue Police Station chief Col. Natapon Pong Suksakhun said police are working with the Chonburi Immigration Office and Pattaya tourist police to track down the two men who left the scene. Police plan to confirm the identity of the missing man and question the survivors about the circumstances of the incident.