Nida Patcharaweeraphong died at the age of 37

THAI actress Nida Patcharaweeraphong has passed away at the age of 37 after falling from a speedboat during a restaurant trip with friends.

Nida was going to a restaurant with friends when she fell into the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok on February 24.

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She is believed to have been seated at the end of the boat but how she fell remains unclear.

Speedboats searched for Nida for 20 minutes after her friends noticed her missing but then decided to call the local authorities, who sent a team of 30 divers to search the area.

Nida’s brother Dais Dejjab joined the search and rescue mission and was reported to have spotted “something floating” in the water and was later identified as that of the Thai actress.

He said: “The pain everyone in the family goes through is unbearable. We love our sister so much and she has brought us so much happiness.

“I want to thank everyone for their efforts. I’m here to bring her home now.”

Nida’s distraught mother, Panida Siriyuthyothin, said her daughter was a great swimmer and couldn’t believe what had happened.

She said: “The night before she went missing, I suddenly thought about her. I wanted to call her. When I heard the news, I couldn’t believe it. I still hope it’s not her.”

The doctors who performed an autopsy on Nida confirmed she died of drowning and found a deep wound to her left leg possibly caused by the boat’s propeller.

Senior police chief at Nonthaburi Station, Major General Paisarn Wongwatcharamongkol, said the owner of the speedboat could face charges of operating the train with an expired license.