A harpoon was lodged into a boy's face narrowly missing his brain in a hunting accident in Thailand.

Wanarun Khammitan, 10, had taken the equipment to shoot mice with his friends in Nakhon Ratchasima province on December 14. However, he accidentally discharged the spear at his face, lodging the 24-inch object near his left temple.

The boy's parents rushed him to the Huai Thalaeng Hospital as he cried from fear and pain, but he needed to be transferred to the Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital an hour away due to lack of equipment.

Once there, rescue volunteers were called to saw off the end of the harpoon jutting out of Wanarun's face. They covered the youngster's head with cloth to protect him from the sparks before hacking off the metal skewer.

Doctors said the harpoon was embedded diagonally in the boy's head, and barely missed his eye and brain.

Chaisit Phupharat, a paramedic from the Rescue Unit Hook 31, said: 'This case is more dangerous than the other similar cases that have occurred recently. The injured person is only a child, about 10 years old, but the previous patient was older.

'This time, the dart was lodged diagonally. Luckily, it didn't hit the nervous system or brain. The child was frightened, shocked, and in severe pain at the wound. He was crying for his parents all the time, so we had to exercise utmost caution.'

Medics said that Wanarun had undergone surgery to safely remove the rest of the harpoon and was recovering from the ordeal. He has also been given antibiotics to avoid any infections from the dirty harpoon spear.

Hospital Director Praween Tanthaprapha said the youngster was not knocked out by the dart but he experienced significant pain and blood loss.

He added: 'The dart pierced through the front part of the skull, coming close to the eyeball, but fortunately avoiding his eye and brain.

'It was fortunate that the dart pierced diagonally from the skull to the cheekbone, which is thicker.

'If it had gone slightly higher, it might have pierced his eye or eye nerves, potentially causing blindness.

'Moreover, if it had been slightly even more higher, it could have impacted his brain.'

Earlier this year another youngster from the same province suffered a similar accident.

Chayathorn Thankrathok, 14, survived shooting himself in the face with a one-foot-long harpoon while hunting fish in a canal in Nakhon Ratchasima on November 19. The projectile rebounded on some rocks and pierced his cheek.