Rescue boat capsized in northern Thai floods, not central province

Published on November 24, 2025 at 08:33
2 min read
By AFP Thailand

Parts of Thailand have been inundated by months of heavy rain and flooding, but a video posts claim shows a rescue boat capsizing in central Ayutthaya province was in fact filmed more than 300 kilometres away. A rescue organisation shared the clip on October 1, which was taken during an evacuation effort in northern Uttaradit province.

"The flooding in Ayutthaya is so strong that a rescue boat capsized while trying to help victims of the floods. May everyone be safe," reads the Burmese-language caption of a video shared on November 12, 2025 by a Facebook page sharing news from Thailand for Burmese immigrants living in the country.

The video shows the moment a white boat capsizes after it was swept by strong currents into a concrete pole, while its passengers plunge into murky water.

Screenshot taken on November 20, 2025 of the misleading post with an X marked by AFP

The same video circulated in Facebook, TikTok and Instagram posts claiming it was filmed in Ayutthaya province.

The central province, which is home to a UNESCO-listed ancient city, has been inundated by heavy rain and a number of villages along the Chao Phraya river have been completely submerged for nearly four months (archived link).

Twenty people have died in the floods, and the local Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office said more than 63,000 households have been affected, though most have remained in place despite the risks (archived link).

However, the circulating video was in fact filmed in Uttaradit province -- situated 370 kilometres (230 miles) north of Ayutthaya.

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found a higher quality Facebook reel shared by a local charity group on October 1, 2025 (archived link).

The Thai-language caption said a rescue boat belonging to the Ruamkatanyu foundation capsized that day as it helped victims evacuate flooding in Uttaradit province.

Screenshot comparison of the video from the misleading post (left) to the video from the local charity group

Multiple local news outlets reported that the incident took place in Ban Kaeng neighborhood in Tron district, Uttaradit province during a rescue mission (archived link).

The scene corresponds to Google Maps Street View imagery of the neighbourhood in Tron district (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the video from the charity group (left) to the Google Street View image with similarities highlighted by AFP

Thai news outlet The Nation reported that Uttaradit experienced the province's worst flooding in 80 years during late September to early October. Flooding from heavy rains brought by tropical storm Bualoi inundated 2,000 households across three districts (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked misrepresented visuals from natural disasters here and here.

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