Similar tragic accidents have often happened in Thailand when workers or people went into the toxic gas pit, resulting in death because of suffocating toxic gases, said Lae Dilokvidhyarat, a veteran economist who specialises in labour issues.

His comments came after a female student fell into a wastewater pit of CPF on Friday and four employees of CPF tried to rescue her, resulting in all five losing their lives.

Lae said the latest incident suggested that the concerned parties did not take enough precautions to prevent such a tragic event. They should have known that a wastewater treatment pit is much more dangerous than a general sewer due to the high level of toxic gases, hence strict measures should have been enforced, said Lae.

He also pointed out that environmental authorities in the past examined factories or plants only when people in the community complained about foul smell or other pollution. Authorities also often mistakenly thought that large and modern companies, would completely comply with environmental regulations, so there was no need for inspection, said Lae.

Regular inspections needed

“From now on, authorities should undertake regular inspections of factories and wastewater treatment facilities, and concerned parties must take extra safety measures when dealing with dangerous facilities,” he suggested.

He said when labour unions celebrate May Day every year, there are often calls for a safer environment at the work place, as labourers know that they are not only working for a living but also risking their lives in hostile conditions there.

About 50 people, family members, friends and university lecturers gathered at the Department of Forensic Medicine of Chulalongkorn University yesterday to express their condolences over the death of Punthi Katasuwan, a student at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science.

Meanwhile, Naree Archayotha, relative of victim Pornsak Boonban, met police at Bang Na police station seeking documents to secure the release of Pornsak’s body from Chulalongkorn Hospital. Naree said Pornsak lost his life trying to rescue Punthi.

She said that CPF had informed the family about the compensation. Regarding the possibility of taking legal action against CPF, Naree said the family’s next course of action would depend on the outcome of the police investigation.

Police said they are now gathering evidence to find out if the tragic incident was an accident or a result of negligence by any party. Police will seek more information from victims’ relatives, witnesses and look at results of the forensic tests of the victims from the Department of Forensic Medicine Chulalongkorn Hospital.

Parisothat Punnabhum, CPF’s senior executive vice president for human resources, also met with relatives of victims at Chulalongkorn Hospital to express his sympathy and pledged that the company will support the victims’ families, including education expenses for their children. He admitted that there was no CCTV at the site. The area was a restricted site and walking there was prohibited, he said. The company would find out what really happened and take additional steps to prevent such an incident happening gain.