IN a harrowing scene of desperation, a daughter in southern Thailand was forced to place her mother’s body in a refrigerator after the elderly woman drowned during catastrophic flooding in Songkhla province.
According to local reports, the floods struck the residential area on November 21, following days of relentless heavy rain.
Water levels reportedly rose to approximately 1.8 metres, submerging the victim’s home along with several neighbouring properties.
The woman, believed to be in her 80s, was unable to save herself due to limited mobility and an inability to swim. She reportedly clung to furniture in the house before being swept away by the fast-moving currents, Sinar Harian reported on Sunday.
Her daughter, trapped in the same home along with two neighbours, made the grim decision to place the body in a freezer to delay decomposition while waiting for rescue teams to arrive.
The refrigerator was tied and left to float in the floodwaters to prevent it from being swept away.
The desperate situation persisted for nearly three days before rescue personnel reached the location on November 24 using boats.
The elderly woman’s body remained in the freezer when the rescuers arrived, while her daughter was found in a state of extreme exhaustion and trauma from being trapped in the flood.
The daughter was immediately evacuated to receive medical attention, and the body of her mother was handed over to authorities for proper handling.
The incident underscores the extraordinary lengths to which individuals went to cope with one of the region’s most severe floods in recent memory. - November 30, 2025
