• A 22-year-old female tourist, Sarocha Wijitpanya, died after falling approximately 200 meters into a ravine at Doi Jawale in Tak province on December 25.
• Rescue teams faced a challenging seven-hour trek to recover her body due to the remote and rugged terrain of the location, which is far from the nearest community.
• Local disaster prevention officers coordinated with multiple agencies for the recovery, initially seeking helicopter assistance that was unavailable due to other operations.
• Separately, officials are investigating a tourist bus accident in Phuket where a bus fell into a 15-meter ravine, injuring several passengers.

A female tourist died after plunging into a deep ravine at a remote mountain attraction in Tak province yesterday, December 25, with rescue teams forced to trek for more than seven hours to recover her body.

The incident occurred at Doi Jawale, a natural tourist site in Tha Song Yang district, where authorities were alerted by local porters who reported that a tourist had fallen approximately 200 metres into a ravine. The location, situated deep within rugged terrain in Tha Song Yang subdistrict, is several hours’ walk from the nearest community.

The victim was later identified by her boyfriend as 22 year old Sarocha Wijitpanya, a resident of Surat Thani province, who was reportedly with him at the time of the fall. Officials said she died at the scene, with the circumstances surrounding the fall still under investigation.

Following the report, local disaster prevention officers coordinated with multiple agencies to inspect the site and recover the body for a post-mortem examination. Due to the remoteness of the area, rescue teams estimated that reaching the location on foot would take between six and seven hours, reported Dailynews.

According to Narong Priangkam, manager of the Phetkasem Foundation, efforts were initially made to secure helicopter assistance to evacuate the body, but aircraft were unavailable due to other urgent operations. As a result, units from the 35th Ranger Regiment, along with rescue teams and national park officers, were sent in on foot to recover the body.

As of now, no further updates have been released.

In a separate incident involving ravines, in Phuket, officials are investigating a tourist bus accident in Kata that resulted in the vehicle falling into a 15-metre-deep ravine. The bus, operated by OS Tour, was carrying tourists when the driver lost control, hit a roadside barrier, and veered off the road. Many passengers were reportedly injured.