A 65-year-old Thai woman committed suicide by crocodile last week, removing her shoes and jumping into a zoo’s pond filled with crocodiles.
The incident took place in front of horrified witnesses at the Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo, who saw Wanpen Inyai jump into the 10-foot-deep pond filled with more than 1,000 crocodiles. Dozens of them descended on her immediately as staff at the zoo tried to fend off the crocodiles with sticks.
Her body was found floating in the pond the next day, and officials had to use DNA testing on tissue found at the scene to identify the body.
A picture of the woman’s body floating in the pond’s waters circulated around the internet this weekend.
The woman’s sister said Inyai was suffering from “stress and depression” before she went off. Family members had reported her missing earlier in the day.
Executives at the zoo denied accusations that they tried to cover up the suicide . Reports indicated that the zoo asked the woman’s family members to keep the incident quiet.
This is not the first suicide by crocodile to take place on the farm, which is located about 25 miles from Bangkok. Another depressed woman waded into the zoo’s crocodile infested waters in 2012.
The woman told her husband she was going to see a doctor and then went to the reptile farm and zoo. Workers at the facility saw the female intentionally jumping into the crocodile pit.
The zoo is considered the largest crocodile habitat in the world, housing more than 100,000 of the reptiles. The zoo hosts a variety of animal shows, with handlers interacting directly with the crocodiles. It also made headlines in 2001 when a two-headed crocodile was born there.
Another suicide by crocodile took place at the zoo in 2002.
Wanpen Inyai went to great lengths to commit suicide by crocodile. The zoo’s pond is surrounded by a fence, and the farm posts guards to keep tourists safe.
[Photo via AFP]
