Boy, 12, praised for rescuing drowning girl, 17, in Bangkok

A 12-year-old boy received public praise for rescuing a 17-year-old girl who jumped into the Chao Phraya River from a Bangkok bridge on Friday night.
The incident occurred at 7.13pm in Bang Kho Laem district of the capital.
The boy, identified as Thanapat Bunkerd or Klao, told media he and his friends were fishing on the bridge and noticed his line had become entangled with something below. He climbed down to fix it and suddenly heard a loud splash.
He then saw a girl, identified only as Natthamon, crying for help. Among the other boys, Klao was the only one who could swim, so he decided to jump in and rescue her.
Klao swam quite far to reach her, he said. While in the water, the girl told him she had wanted to die but had now changed her mind.
Once out of the river, she was conscious but exhausted. Police and rescuers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and brought the girl to Charoenkrung Pracharak hospital for a check-up.
Klao said he was afraid of drowning too, but felt compelled to help.
“Don’t do this again because if I wasn’t there, no one would have been able to help you,” he said to the girl.
Klao’s mother, Suppawan Thaitanatrob, 31, told the media that she was proud of her son’s bravery in helping others. However, she was also worried about his safety since he was just a young boy.
The young hero is studying in third grade at Wat Chan Nai school. His story was widely shared on social media, with many saying he was very brave and worthy of respect.