TWO local residents who went to catch fish in Nathon pier instead discovered four precious Buddha images buried underwater.

Saereeya said he always goes fishing in the area because there are lots of fish there, but as he was about to pull back his hook as he had decided to go home, he felt his hook strike something in the water.

He then asked his friend Suthep to help pull the hook, and they were very surprised when they saw the object that surfaced on the water was the head area of a Buddha image contained in a heavy bag weighing about 10 kilos.

After pulling the bag up and opening it, they found a total of four Buddha images in different gestures according to the Buddhist belief.

The two finders went to the police to find out whether the Buddha images had been stolen.

Police Capt. Surin Baukhong said the images might have been stolen from a temple on Koh Samui.
“The suspects might have wanted to keep these Buddha images in a secret place, but by fate the two local residents found them first,” the police official said.

Police said it will ask residents and visit temples on the island to find the owner or owners of the sculptures.

According to an expert, the Buddha images were made of brass and bronze and were believed to be valuable as they were antiques. However, he could not determine exactly how old they were.

Some parts of the sculptures were described to be already damaged by sea water, and soil has clogged the base of the Buddha images.