Bodies Stranded After Crash Believed to be USF Students — August 9, 2017

A crash two weeks ago involving a car that crashed down a steep cliff and got stuck in a raging snowmelt in the river has rescuers struggling to recover the two bodies inside. The Thailand Consulate in Los Angeles released a statement saying they believe the two bodies in the river wreckage are two Thai exchange students on vacation, Thiwadee Saengsuriyarit, 24, and her male friend Pakkapol Chairattanasongporn, 28, also known as Golf. They were reported missing when they did not return to their hotel. Officials are working together to devise a way to extricate the bodies for positive identification. The crashed 75 miles east of Fresno in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is lodged 500 feet below in the snow melt swollen King River. The students were going to Kings Canyon National Park. The hotel office called authorities on July 28^th when the pair had not returned to their room. They were University of Florida students. Officials plan to seek help from the military in raising the car.