PETCHABUN – A heartbreaking incident occurred when a young man originally from Roi Et stopped his pickup truck on the side of the Huaithong Bridge and jumped to his death in the dark in Phetchabun.
Officials spent a long time talking with him and even tried to rush in and help, but could not stop him. Witnesses saw him leap from the bridge despite every effort to intervene. Four farewell letters were found in his pickup truck, addressed to his siblings, close friends, and colleagues. It took more than three hours for the rescue team to recover his body.
Police from Ban Klang Station in Lom Sak, Phetchabun, received a call last night (8 September 2025) from the 191 Centre. They were told that a man was threatening to jump from the Huaithong Bridge. Pol. Col. Phasan Sangthong, the station’s superintendent, joined with his team and rescue volunteers from Sawang Mongkol Saratha, hurrying to the scene.
At the Huaithong Bridge, also called Phor Khun Pha Muang Bridge, which has the highest pillars in Thailand and links Lom Sak to Nam Nao on Highway 12, authorities found a grey Isuzu pickup with Roi Et plates parked without a front licence plate.
A man was sitting on the rail, his legs dangling over the side, while officers tried everything to calm him. Rescue volunteers tried to get closer when traffic distracted him, hoping for a chance to pull him away. In the middle of these efforts, the man stood up on the rail and jumped into the darkness below. Officials and witnesses were left shocked by what happened.
Inside his Truck, Police Found Four Letters
The first was for his two older brothers, urging them to care for each other, stop arguing, and leave behind bad habits. He asked them not to blame themselves, saying he was just too weak, and signed off that only the two of them would be left now.
The second note went to his friends Tor and Oat, thanking them for all the times they shared—playing, dancing, laughing, even crying together. He apologized for leaving first and said there were too many things left unsaid for one piece of paper.
The third letter spoke to his coworkers about daily work matters. In the final note, he apologized to everyone for the trouble he caused, signing his name, Peeraphat Joe, and the date, 8-9-68.
Authorities identified the man as Peeraphat, 29 years old, from Ban Dong Daeng, Jaturapak Phiman, Roi Et. Months before, he had tried to take his life by running his car engine in the same vehicle under the Huaithong Bridge, but police managed to rescue him in time.
This time, they could not talk him out of it.
After he jumped, officers used searchlights to look for him below the bridge, an area that is steep and risky. Nantasak Khumdee and two other disaster prevention officials from Pak Chong Subdistrict were the first to go down. The ground was thick with grass, thorns, and not much air, so it took a while to find him. They eventually located his body.
A rope rescue team then brought his body up to the bridge. Altogether, the recovery lasted more than three hours. His remains were sent to Lom Sak Hospital to be kept and examined, waiting for the family to claim him. The pickup truck was taken to Ban Klang Police Station for safekeeping.
Huaithong Bridge stands as a well-known landmark in Phetchabun and is a key route connecting the North to the Northeast. Because of its height and difficult location, every rescue operation here involves real risk and takes a lot of effort from the emergency teams.
