Fate of Thai students whose car went over cliff remains unknown as U.S. authorities postpone recovery effort

Due to the high current, U.S. authorities have called off their attempt to recover a rental car belonging to two Thai students, which was supposed to take place today. It’s been 12 days since the two Thais went missing and their car was found submerged in the river off a 150-meter-high cliff located along the route leading to King’s Canyon National Park in California.

To the dismay of many Thai people, American authorities have still not been able to reach the vehicle of Thiwadee “Min” Saengsuriyarit and Pakkaphol “Golf” Chairattanasongporn, students at the University of Florida who went missing Wednesday.

The young man and woman reportedly checked in at the Reedley Inn on Tuesday and never came back. The owner of the motel said the two asked her for directions to California’s famous attractions.

“They asked me about the Sequoia Park and the Kings Canyon National Park. ‘How far is it?’'” recalled the owner, as quoted by Your Central Valley.

The students were supposed to check out two days later but never did.

“I opened the door. All stuff in there and they didn’t show up,” said the owner.

Yesterday, Victor Taylor, an officer for the California Highway Patrol in Fresno, said the recovery of the vehicle has been delayed indefinitely as the weather forecast has predicted rains in the upcoming days and the high current would cause danger to the rescuers, according to Siam Town US, a Thai newspaper in Los Angeles.

The report said that the Thai Consulate could not accept the delays by local authorities and pointed out that Thailand has always rescued foreigners injured in their country immediately.

The families of Min and Golf arrived in Los Angeles on Friday morning and were assisted by the Thai Consulate.  

On Facebook, many Thai netizens condemned U.S. authorities for their slow rescue process and expressed hope that reports by the American media would soon lead to the rescue of the two Thais.

Siam Town US also published closeup footage of the students’ rental car submerged in the water with the windows blurred out. Their reporters believe at least one person was still inside the vehicle.

Editor’s Note: The earlier version of this story contained incorrect information about the date that the two students went missing.