HAT YAI – A devastating flood incident in Hat Yai has revealed a heartbreaking story of survival and loss after rescue teams discovered a daughter who had survived for days by floating in a refrigerator while her elderly mother drowned beside her. The tragedy unfolded in The Rich Village housing estate in Ban Phru, where the two women had waited four days for rescue as floodwaters submerged their home.

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Rescue officer Wallop Boonchan from Phuket documented the emotional operation on social media, posting footage of the moment his team reached the nearly submerged residence on Monday evening. According to his account, responders found the traumatized daughter sitting inside a floating refrigerator—her only refuge from the nearly 1.8-meter floodwaters. Through tears, she explained that her 80-year-old mother had slipped into the strong current and drowned the previous night.

Hat Yai floods: Daughter keeps drowned mother's body in fridge to stop it drifting away #Asia #News #Thailand #Thai https://t.co/uxWUUeLRpW

— Thailand Digest – News from the Land of Smiles (@thailanddigest) November 26, 2025

In a desperate act to preserve her mother’s body from being swept away, the daughter had placed the remains in another refrigerator. The rescue team recovered the body and transported the exhausted daughter to safety, where she subsequently collapsed from trauma and exhaustion. The video sparked an outpouring of public sympathy for the grieving family and recognition for rescue workers operating in extremely dangerous conditions throughout flood-ravaged southern Thailand.

-Thailand News (TN)