Two 9th-grade girls drowned in a village swimming pool in Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province. A mobile phone was found set up to record a clip of them competing in underwater diving. Nong Prue Police are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the cause.
At 18:49 on 13 June 2026, the Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation radio center in Pattaya received a report of two girls drowning in a swimming pool within a village on Wat Boonsampan Soi (Khao Noi Soi), Moo 10, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province. Rescue and emergency teams were dispatched promptly and coordinated with Nong Prue Police to investigate.
The scene was the village’s swimming pool, covering about 400 square wah (2 ngan). The pool depth ranged from shallow at 70 cm to its deepest point at 3 meters. Near the poolside, villagers were performing CPR on two unconscious girls who were soaking wet. Rescue teams attempted CPR for over half an hour but, tragically, both girls died. They were identified as 14-year-old Friars and 14-year-old Khao Hom, both students in grade 9 at a private school in Pattaya.
When the girls’ parents arrived and saw their daughters’ bodies, they fainted from shock and grief. They struggled to accept what had happened until authorities provided first aid and comforted the grieving parents.
At the scene, two mobile phones and a drinking glass were found placed at the pool’s edge. One phone was set up alongside the glass, apparently recording a video of the girls playing in the water. Preliminary findings indicate the two deceased girls had set up the phone to record themselves competing in underwater diving before drowning. The police confiscated the phones as evidence.
Mrs. Khanittha, 42, mother of Friars, said that around 16:00 after bringing Friars to visit her close friend Khao Hom in the village, Friars told her, “Mom, Khao Hom will take me swimming.” She had warned her daughter not to swim but then dropped her off at the village entrance guardhouse. That was the last time she saw her daughter. Around 19:00, after losing contact, she called Friars’ phone but rescue workers answered to say her daughter had drowned. She admitted to being shocked and deeply saddened.
Khao Hom’s parents were unable to speak as they remained in shock and fainted multiple times. Rescue teams were closely monitoring and caring for them.
Mr. Leo (alias), a village resident who discovered the incident, said he had come to the pool to swim and saw the two girls submerged at the bottom. When he shouted for help, nearby people said the girls had been underwater for a long time. Seeing the danger, he quickly alerted village elders to assist. He also noted that the victims’ phones recorded videos of them playing and competing underwater before drowning.
Police Lieutenant Burapha Jaihan, deputy investigator at Nong Prue Police Station, said they conducted a thorough on-site examination and reviewed CCTV footage around the pool. The cause of the drownings remains undetermined pending further investigation. The bodies were released to families for traditional funeral rites.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage from the village pool showed that at 17:37, the two girls entered the water, with no adults present around the pool. They moved toward the deepest part of the pool. One girl began to drown, and the other attempted to help her but was also overcome, resulting in both drowning.