KALASIN: A woman drowned in an irrigation canal in Kamalasai district while cooling off with fellow villagers on Sunday, police said.
Eyewitnesses told police that the woman -- identified later as -- arrived at a spot near a sluice gate in the irrigation canal in tambon Kamalasai in the afternoon with other villagers from Ban Khao Lam.
The spot is regularly frequented by villagers from the village to cool off.
Witnesses told police that Chantra went into the canal along with other villagers shortly after midday. Shortly afterwards, they noticed she had disappeared. They began to look for her, but were not successful as the water was deep and flowing fast.
At about 1pm, the villagers decided to call the police for help. Divers from a rescue unit soon arrived at the scene and scoured the canal. They found Chantra's body about 40 metres from where she entered the water.