Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/17fb0v2g10rhhvu/VRP63113.mp4?dl=0
A speedboat captain was rescued after hitting a cable and flipping over in a river in Thailand.
The 73-year-old ‘Captain Calamity’ took his newly-bought aluminium speedboat for a test drive and warm its engine in Chanthaburi province on September 12 afternoon.
However, when the boat reached Baan Lao bridge, the elderly man lost control and crashed his vehicle into the cable before he overturned.
The captain held onto his boat and shouted out to villagers living along the canal to rescue him before the rescue team was called on the scene.
Rescue team member Nattaping Pumpromchit, 23, said: ‘When I saw the old man’s face I knew I had to jump and tie him up before it was too late. I could not rescue him on my own.’
Upon arrival, the man, who has not been named, let go of his boat and swam while holding onto trees along the canal for safety. He refused to let go before help came as he could be swept away in the water.
Volunteers jumped into the water and tied the exhausted man using a thick rope to prevent him from being washed away.
The team then helped each other carry the man up to the ground safely before pulling the overturned boat to the banks.
The captain was not seriously hurt and was given first aid treatment at the scene.
Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are in the middle of their tropical monsoon rainy season, which lasts until October or November.
Soaring temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius are often followed by powerful tropical storms with thunder, lightning, rain and flash floods which cause rivers to flow faster and become dangerous.