Huge search finds lost boy at Phetchabun waterfall - Bangkok Post

The rescued boy rests in the ambulance after being found. (Photo Soontorn Kongwarakom) A seven-year-old boy spent more than eight hours wandering, lost in bamboo thickets in a ravine before being rescued, near Tat Yai Waterfall in Nam Nao district of Phetchaburi province.

At least 100 searchers were involved - local officials, rescue workers and local residents.

The boy was found  around 10pm on Sunday, exhausted and covered in scratches and abrasions. (continues below)

Volunteers fly a drone, assisting in the rescue of the missing boy. (Photo: Soontorn Kongwarakom)

The boy's family had visited the waterfall following a merit-making trip. They were walking back up a staircase of around 600 steps and the boy went ahead to meet relatives waiting at the top. 

When his parents arrived and he was not there, and no-one had seen him, they alerted authorities.

Teams comprising forestry, district and park officials, village leaders, medical responders and volunteers began looking for him about 2pm. They searched the length of the stairway and surrounding trails, while drones with cameras were flown over the area.

The search was hampered by dense bamboo thickets, the steep slope and cliffs. The missing boy was eventually found after the abbot of Wat Huai Sanam Sai reported hearing  faint cries coming from a clump of bamboo. He was in a ravine about 50 metres from a junction with the main staircase. (continues below)

Rescuers prepare a stretcher, after hearing the boy's calls. (Photo: Soontorn Kongwarakom)

Rescuers brought him out of the ravine and took him to Nam Nao Hospital for treatment.

One of the searchers, Lt Akaraphon Kaewlek, a Nam Nao tourism volunteer, said the boy appeared to have strayed off the main path onto an abandoned staircase near the 400th step.

He expressed concern over the site's safety management, noting the absence of dedicated staff to monitor visitors entering and leaving the waterfall. (continues below)

Rescuers prepare to carry the seven-year-old boy to safety after finding him lost and stranded in a bamboo forest for  8 hours. (Photo: Soontorn Kongwarakom)

Sunday's rescue follows an accident at Tat Yai Waterfall in mid-October, when two tourists fell while abseiling down a cliff. One of them later died.

Such incidents have renewed calls for clear responsibilities in managing the attraction, use of local guides or safety personnel, the installation of warning signs and systematic visitor monitoring to prevent further accidents.