British boy dies in Pattaya Park whirlpool

The victim visited the amusement park with five other family members.

"After he mysteriously disappeared, I kept looking for him and noticed that a cover under the whirlpool was left open. I reported this to lifeguards but they wouldn't believe me," the victim's stepmother, Jintana Clark, said tearfully.

The Thai woman had raised the boy since he was five years old.

"Only after one more hour passed did the lifeguards agreed to check the engine room and find his body," Jintana said.

Damrongsak Songmarerng, a 40-year-old lifeguard, believed the boy might have removed the cover himself, unaware that such action could lead to his death.

"The whirlpool has been in service for more than a decade and there's never been such an accident before," Damrongsak said.

Jintana lamented that the cover should have been locked to ensure that tourists would be really safe.

Pattaya Park has agreed to pay compensation to the victim's family.