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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023512

New Zealand tourist dies while taking selfie over ‘death railway’

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

A New Zealand tourist fell to his death from a local train over the World War II “death railway” in Kanchanaburi province on Tuesday.

Sai Yok Police Station was alerted at 11.50am that a foreign tourist had died after falling about 10 metres from a train to the ground below the death railway at Krasae Cave in Sai Yok district.

The tourist was identified as Patrick Ward, 45.

His fall was captured on video by a tourist in the area. The victim was seen falling on his back out of the train in the short video clip.

Since there is no ladder or other way to climb down in that area, rescuers had to create a makeshift pulley system to lower themselves and pull the body out.

When rescuers spotted him, he was barely breathing, police said. Ward’s right arm and neck broke in the fall. Rescuers tried to resuscitate him for about half an hour but their efforts were in vain.

Pol Colonel Phuchong Narong-in, commander of the police station, said the tour guide had revealed that the tourist had come with a group led by the guide from River Kwai bridge and he rode the train to see the death railway.

The tourist reportedly opened a door of the train and tried to take a selfie to show the view outside but he slipped on the steps at the door and fell to his death.

The Death Railway, connecting Thailand and Burma, was built from 1940 to 1943 by civilian labourers recruited by the Japanese and prisoners of war taken by the Japanese, to supply troops and weapons in Japan’s Burma campaign in

World War II. An estimated 180,000 to 250,000 Southeast Asian civilians and over 60,000 Allied prisoners of war were subjected to forced labour during its construction and over 100,000 of them died.

The police station said it would contact the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok to take custody of the body for the funeral.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023510

Closure of Line Idol up for discussion, says Line (Thailand)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

Line (Thailand) has said it is ready to discuss with media outlets and seek a mutual solution for the closure of the Line Idol business unit, a company source said on Tuesday.

The source made this remark after Line Corporation ordered that the business unit be shut down from December 31 due to economic reasons.

The source said the company acknowledges the uncertainty among Line Idol users, adding that they had been warned of the closure some four months in advance.

“Line [Thailand] is ready to discuss with media outlets on a case-by-case basis to seek mutual solutions,” the source said, adding that the company is also contacting media outlets to clarify the issue.

The source added that the company is not denying the issue and is ready to hear everyone’s opinions.

Line Idol is a communication platform that helps artists, bloggers, celebrities and publishers among others to connect with their fans and audiences through official Line accounts. There are four types of official accounts, namely Celebrities, Net Idols, Bloggers and Publishers.

This channel has served as an important platform for access to monitored and verified content.

Related stories:

• Online news publishers dismayed as LINE will shut LINE IDOL
• Using Line can become too expensive for influencers in the new year
• Zort widens online marketplace for e-retailers with LINE, TikTok tie-up

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023508

Locals suffer from toxic fumes as fire continues raging at Nakhon Phanom landfill site

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

Villages and schools near a Nakhon Phanom landfill site were hit by severely toxic fumes after firefighters were unable to put out a fire that started on Monday.

Refuse in the middle of the 70-rai landfill site at Tambon Pho Tak in Muang district caught fire on Monday and firefighters were unable to get to it. As of press time, the fire had covered about 10 rai of the site.

Administrative authorities believe toxic fumes will have reached at least 10 villages in the area, adding that 300 households in the villages of Ban Nong Kha and Bang Khok Kung were worst hit because they were just 2 or 3 kilometres away from the fire.

Also affected were the Ban Khok Kong School and Ban Nong Kha Khok Kung School, and teachers and students were told to always wear face masks.

Teacher Jintara (surname withheld), 58, from Ban Khok Kong School, said her school was only about 6km from the landfill site and the toxic fumes had severely affected students and teachers.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023507

How three lucky Sa Kaeo locals got a free bus ride home from Samut Prakan

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but three people from Sa Kaeo were lucky to get a free bus ride home on Monday night.

It was possible because of a generous offer from a bus owner on a Facebook page.

A Facebook post on the “Spotlight Bang Pu” page at 2.51pm on Monday announced that the owner of a bus with 50 available seats wanted to offer a free ride to anyone who sought to return to Sa Kaeo.

The post informed that the bus owner had brought a group of passengers to Samut Prakan province, and since he would be driving an empty bus back home, he would be willing to take anyone back to Sa Kaeo at no cost.

The post said the bus would wait on the road on the opposite side of the Bang Pu Recreation Centre in Tambon Bang Pu Mai in Samut Prakan’s Muang district until 9pm.

However, presumably due to the short duration of the notice, only three passengers availed of the offer.

The FB page admin then went to the bus owner, Praiwal Attano, 50, to thank him personally for his generous gesture.

The admin found only three passengers had come to use the free service but they were very happy to get a free ride home.

Praiwal said he would like Sa Kaeo people to ride his bus home free of charge because he remembered his own hard days when it was extremely difficult to travel home – especially during the long holidays.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023506

National park chief arrested for allegedly demanding bribes, misappropriation

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

The chief of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department was arrested by anti-corruption police on Tuesday morning for allegedly demanding bribes from subordinates and siphoning off funds meant for parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

Police from the Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) arrested Ratchada Suriyakul na Ayutthaya at his office at the department’s head office in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district.

Police reportedly found five million cash at Ratchada’s office, which was seized after he failed to explain its source.

The ACD police raided Ratchada’s office after Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn, former chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park, filed a complaint with the ACD, accusing the department chief of demanding bribes from his subordinates.

Chaiwat alleged that Ratchada demanded each of his senior subordinates to somehow raise an amount of 500,000 for him, or else they would be transferred to remote areas.

Ratchada also allegedly demanded that chiefs of national park office and wildlife sanctuaries nationwide deduct 18.5 per cent from their annual budget for operations and send the money back to the department chief.

Chaiwat alleged that forest fire protection units were ordered by Ratchada to deduct 30% from their operation budgets and send the money back to him.

ACD commander Pol Maj-General Charoonkiart Parnkaew said on Tuesday that his division had conducted a preliminary probe and found the allegations credible, leading to the arrest on Tuesday morning.

Ratchada was charged with demanding benefits for himself in exchange for carrying out or not carrying out his duty and with malfeasance as a state official.

Ratchada was taken to the ACD head office for legal action.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023500

Thai navy intensifies hunt for 8 missing HTMS Sukhothai crew

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

The Royal Thai Navy announced that eight sailors of the doomed HTMS Sukhothai are still missing after two bodies were retrieved on Tuesday morning.

In the 11.30am Facebook post, the navy said that 76 of the 105 crew members of the warship were rescued, 21 were confirmed dead and eight still missing.

Vice Admiral Pichai Lorchusakul, commander of the First Naval Area, said the navy’s drone had spotted a body near Koh Sak close to the coast of Chumphon’s Muang district at 8.36am.

The navy coordinated with the Fisheries Department to have one of its boats pick up the body and have it transported to the Sawang Rat Sattha Foundation in Prachuap Khiri Khan for identification.

At 10.15am, the drone detected another body nearby and the navy dispatched HTMS Narathiwat to pick it up.

Pichai said initial investigation has shown that one of HTMS Sukhothai’s life rafts had not been deployed.

A thorough investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the malfunction, he added.

The HTMS Sukhothai had six life rafts, three on each side, and each raft could carry 16 crew members with food, water and other life-saving gear.

The search-and-rescue operations have entered the ninth day after the Rattanakosin-class corvette capsized in stormy seas.

The navy dispatched four ships –HTMS Naresuan, HTMS Taksin, HTMS Narathiwat and HTMS Kraburi – to hunt for the missing sailors.

Two more navy ships – HTMS Bang Rachan and HTMS Ravi – were dispatched earlier on Tuesday to resume diving operations near the wreckage.

HTMS Bang Rachan sent divers out at 3am, while HTMS Ravi began the operation at 6am.

The diving operation had been suspended for two days because the waves were too high.

The Royal Thai Navy announced that eight bodies that have been identified will be moved to Sattahip naval base on Wednesday for funeral rites.

HTMS Sukhothai capsized some 20 nautical miles off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district on December 18.

Related stories:

Navy chief expresses sorrow at funerals as search resumes for missing crew

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023499

Space tech lab opened at Chiang Rai technical college

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

A new space technology laboratory was opened on Tuesday at a Chiang Rai vocational college to promote learning in space and satellite technology.

The Parliament’s Committee on Telecommunications, Digital Economy and Society on Tuesday opened the space technology laboratory at Wiang Pa Pao Technical College in Chiang Rai’s Wiang Pa Pao district.

The ceremony was presided over by committee chairwoman Kanlaya Rungwijitchai, Member of Parliament from Saraburi province.

The laboratory is a collaboration between Parliament, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), and private partners such as Thaicom, Charoen Pokphand Group, True Corporation, and Tero Space to establish a learning centre in the Northern region with focus on space technology, earth exploration satellite and geo-informatics.

Settapong Malisuwan, vice chairman of the Parliament’s subcommittee on Space Affairs for Economy and Security, said that Thailand is currently lacking qualified personnel in space technology and related fields, which will be crucial to the country’s economic development in the next decade.

“We need to equip Thai students with suitable space-related knowledge and training to compete efficiently at the international level. The committee is confident that graduates in these fields will have no trouble finding jobs in the next 5-10 years due to soaring demand,” he said.

Settapong added that Chiang Rai was selected to be the base for space laboratory as the province is facing several problems that could be prevented/alleviated by using space technology, including PM2.5 dust particles and natural disasters such as flash floods and mud slide.

If the pilot lab at Wiang Pa Pao proves to be successful, the committee will consider expanding the project to other provinces throughout Thailand, he added.

Related Stories

Over 3.28 million rai in 25 provinces swamped by floods: GISTDA

Only a ‘remote chance’ of Chinese rocket debris falling on Thailand

Thai military teams up with space agency for ‘eyes in the sky’

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023496

How to avoid holiday traffic jams on Bangkok-Northeast routes

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022

Nakhon Ratchasima police have advised motorists they can take three alternative routes to avoid congestion on Mitrapharp Road for trips to Northeast provinces during the long New Year holiday.

Mitraphap road, the main gateway to 20 Northeast provinces, will be jammed with vehicles driving north, warned Police Bureau 3 Commissioner Lt Gen Somprasong Yenthuam.

The bureau offered the following alternative routes to beat the jams:

• – From Bangkok, take Phaholyothin Road to Saraburi and turn right at the Phu Kae intersection onto Phu Kae-Lomsak road, then turn right turn at the Muang Khom Intersection onto highway 2256 to Nakhon Ratchasima. At the Mung Khom Intersection, turn left onto highway 205 and proceed to highway 201 to reach Nakhon Ratchasima.
• – Take highway 304 (Bangkok-Chachoengsao) to Phanom Sarakham, Kabin Buri, Wang Namkhiew, and Pak Thongchai to reach either Nakhon Ratchasima or Buri Ram.
• – Drive from Bangkok to Sa Kaew, then proceed to Aranyaprathet, Ta Phraya, None Din Daeng, and Laharn Sai to reach Buri Ram.

Somprasong said 16,000 policemen will be deployed to direct traffic and assist motorists in the lower Northeast provinces of Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Yasothon, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani during the New Year holiday.

Police and other agencies including local rescue foundations will staff checkpoints to help motorists during the holidays, Somprasong said.