PHITSANULOK: The body of an unidentified man was found drifting under a bridge across the Nan River in Muang district on Sunday afternoon, police said.
Pol Capt Thawin Nongluang, deputy chief investigator of the Naresuan University community police in tambon Tha Pho, said the body was seen floating near a bridge pillar on the eastern side of the river.
The body, with only a pair of blue shorts on, had swollen beyond recognition and was emitting a foul smell. There were no wounds or traces of violence on the body, and no valuables or identification documents.
Pol Capt Thawin said police were determining whether the body was of a man named Veerut Thaowan, 27, a foreman from Lampang's Thoen district, whose relatives filed a complaint with Phitsanulok police that he disappeared after going out to swim in the Nan River on Dec 21. The relatives feared he might have drowned in the chilly water.
Divers had searched the river for his body without success. The spot where Veerut disappeared was about 15 kilometres upstream from the bridge.
The body would be sent to Phutthachinnarat Hospital in Phitsanulok for an autopsy, and Veerut's relatives would be asked if they could identify the corpse, Pol Capt Thawin said.