Si SA KET: A mentally ill man who climbed to the top of a railway bridge over a creek suffered a seizure while police were trying to talk him down and had to be rescued on Wednesday afternoon.
Peemai Samarnwong, 26, of Ubon Ratchathani’s Phibun Mangsahan district, was spotted climbing onto the top of the bridge across Huay Samran creek in Muang district around 2pm.
Police, rescue workers and disaster prevention officials were called to the scene.
They tried to persuade him to climb back down, but the man kept saying he did not want to be sent to Srimahapho mental hospital in nearby Ubon Ratchathani province.
After about a half-hour of gentle coaxing, Mr Peemai appeared to have calmed down and agreed to climb down, but then suffered a seizure that left him lying on the top strut.
Rescue workers quickly moved to help him, while police contacted Si Sa Ket railway station to alert the driver of a scheduled Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani train about the rescue operation on the bridge.
Mr Peemai was brought down safely, as people who had gathered to watch breathed a collective sigh of relief. He was taken to Si Sa Ket Hospital.
Police said the man had a chornic illness and also suffered from a mental problem. His relatives were called to take care of him.