A plumber was rescued after he was found submerged in a muddy drain while repairing a pipe in northeastern Thailand.

Khamron Boonram, 59, was working on the construction site with ten others to fix the broken system. Water was gushing out of the pipe while he worked so he slipped in the mud and accidentally hit his head.

The stranded plumber was submerged for almost 20 minutes before he was found by the rescuers and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Footage shows the colleagues and rescue team members searching for Khamron in the filthy water before pulling him out in Khon Kaen province on May 15.

One of the workers said Khamron had just started work at the agency so he was still inexperienced compared to others.

He said: ‘He just started on the job last month. We will look after him more carefully once he returned to work to prevent another accident.’

Police Colonel Prawit Toha said the workers were employed by the provincial waterworks authority, which sent a repair team to tend to a broken pipe.

He said: ‘The agency was called to fix a broken pipe and the plumbers entered the pit where the leakage was located.

‘Khamron was covered by dirt and screamed for help. When he was found he was carried and given an oxygen mask as he could barely breathe and rushed to the hospital.’

The worker is now in stable condition and was still receiving treatment at the hospital.