Wife was shocked after she returned from Songkran celebrations in the late evening before nightfall to find her husband floating face down in the pool. She told police that the old water pump, which was still running, had been known to short circuit before as it appears the man and his dog were both electrocuted.
A shocked Thai wife in Udon Thani told of her heartbreak and distress on Friday night after she returned from Songkran celebrations to find her 61-year-old husband dead in the family swimming pool next to his beloved dog. Police are investigating the death which appear to have been caused by an old water pump used by the man for gardening that short-circuited and ended up electrifying the water in the pool which he had entered.
A Thai wife who returned from celebrating Songkran to her home on Friday found a shockingly harrowing scene as the evening faded into the night.
She saw her husband floating face down in the family’s swimming pool together with his cherished pet dog.
The tragic accident was reported to police at Nong Han Police Station in the same district of Udon Thani which has led to an investigation of the incident led by Police Lieutenant Colonel Niang Sri Phrom.
Man found floating in the pool as night closed in with his beloved dog ‘Joker’. He had earlier promised to follow his wife to Songkran celebrations
Police responding to the scene found the 61-year-old owner of the home floating in the pool with his small dog named Joker while a water pump was heard running in the background.
The dead man’s wife told police that earlier in the day she had told her husband she was heading to the village to take part in Songkran festivities.
He told her that he would follow shortly but first of all wanted to water the flowers and plants in the garden.
She explained to police that the water pump used by her husband, a metal device, was old and had a history of short-circuiting.
Water pump unplugged to allow rescue services to retrieve the man’s body and his dog floating in the swimming pool, a tragic sight that greeted his wife
Officers, on Friday evening, responded to the tragedy first of all by unplugging the water pump before leaving emergency services to retrieve the body of the deceased man and his dog as his wife began to break down uncontrollably taking in the tragedy of the scene before her.
It is understood that the whole body of water itself became electrified when the apparatus again malfunctioned.
Police surmise that the house owner also somehow fell into the pool or had jumped in and was electrocuted as the water pump was still running.
It appears that the dog had responded to his master’s actions by also jumping into the pool dying from the deadly electric current.
Wife tells of her heartbreak at losing her husband and his dog as police order an autopsy before the body is handed back to the family for funeral rites
‘I thought that while watering the plants, the water didn’t flow. When I went to see the pump, it must have slipped into the pool and my husband died from a short circuit. Joker, it is thought, jumped down to help him and was electrocuted to death. This pump is old and has shorted before on my husband. My husband loves Joker very much. He was adopted from a small pup. He fed him food and water and slept with him every day. He loved the dog like a child. Today, my husband and the Joker left together. I’m very sad.’
Police have opened an investigation into the death and are coordinating with nearby hospitals to organise an autopsy, which is routine in such cases, to determine just how the man died.
After this, a decision will be taken on the case and further investigative enquiries.
Police indicated that after the autopsy was completed, the body will be handed over to the family for religious rites.
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Further reading:
17-year-old Thai girl electrocuted by her smartphone in Chaiyaphum province last Friday
