Nida Patcharaweeraphong: Thai actress, 37, dies after mysteriously falling off speedboat
Thai actress Nida Patcharaweeraphong, 37, fell to her death from a speedboat on February 24 in Bangkok. Nida fell into the Chao Phraya river from the back end of the speedboat where she was seated. The actress had been on a restaurant trip with her friends at the time of the incident.
How she fell off the speedboat has still not been determined. The actress' friends had reportedly not realized when she went missing from the boat. The speedboat searched for Nida for over 20 minutes after they found out she was missing. After failing to locate her, her friends called the authorities. A team of 30 divers was sent to search for Nida in the river. This river tragedy does bring to mind how 'Glee' actress Naya Rivera had drowned in 2020. Josey, her son was found asleep and alone on the boat later and he had on a life jacket while no life jacket was found on Rivera's body.
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Nida's brother Dais Dejjab joined the search, shortly before he spotted 'something floating' in the water, which then turned out to be Nida. "The pain everyone in the family is going through is unbearable. We loved our sister so much and she brought us so much happiness. I would like to thank everyone for their efforts. I came to take her back home now," Dejjab stated after identifying his sister.
Panida Siriyuthyothin, the Thai actress' mother, stated that her daughter was a good swimmer and she couldn't believe what had happened. "Before that night she went missing I suddenly thought about her. I wanted to call her. When I heard the news, I could not believe it. I still hoped it wasn't her," she told a news outlet. The actress' autopsy revealed that she had died from drowning. She also had a deep injury on her left leg which was supposedly caused by the propeller of the boat.
Chief of Nonthaburi station Major General Paisarn Wongwatcharamongkol further revealed that the owner of the speedboat was likely to face charges for using the vessel despite having an expired license. "We found that the speed boat had an expired license and the person who was driving it at the time Nida fell also had no license to drive. The two may face charges for causing death due to negligence but no formal charges have been filed," Major General Paisarn told local reporters.
The speedboat's owners Tanupat Lerttaweewit and the driver, who has been identified as 'Bert', have been taken in for questioning by police. Nida's body has been returned to her family who are currently working on her funeral arrangements.
Nida was also a model and singer. She was married to fellow actor Tono Pakin Kumwilaisuk from 2013 to 2015.