PHITSANULOK: A fisherman who thought he had snagged a log was shocked to discover he had reeled in the body of a young university student, in Muang district on Tuesday morning.
Naret Saenhansirikul, 58, told local police he was fishing in the Nan River near Naresuan bridge in tambon Nai Muang.
About 10.30am, he was reeling in his hook and it seemed to catch on a log under the water. He persevered, forcefully pulling in the line and was shocked to see he had hooked a young woman's body by her clothing.
Police said the body was dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans and was identified as a 21-year-old native of Phichit province who studied at a university in Muang district of Phitsanulok. It was initially estimated she had been dead about eight hours.
The dead woman's relatives were called to the scene. Her friends told them the young woman had accompanied them to a pub in Muang district on Monday night and they left together when it closed.
They were travelling in their vehicle back to their dormitory when the woman asked them to stop on the bridge, saying that she would get out and wait there for her boyfriend.
Right after getting out of the vehicle, the woman said goodbye and dove into the river before the eyes of her shocked friends. They tried to find her under the bridge and called rescue workers for help, but to no avail.
They found no sign of their missing friend until the fisherman reeled in her body on Tuesday morning.
Her family told police that she suffered from depression and was receiving treatment at a hospital in Muang district.
Police said there were no signs of assault on the body and her family did not suspect any other cause of her death. They took her body home for funeral rites. The young woman's name was not released.