On Monday, May 22, seven individuals, four children among them, met a tragic end when a rainstorm’s ferocious winds brought down a metal roof sheltering a school sports field.
The calamity struck at the Wat Nern Por primary school, situated in Phichit province, approximately 185 miles north of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. The children, aged from six to 13, were playing in the open-sided shelter on the sports field when the structure succumbed to the storm’s powerful gusts.
The provincial public relations office reported that two of the deceased were parents and one was a janitor at the school. The incident also injured 18 people, one of whom, a six-year-old boy, tragically passed away in a local hospital later that night.
Eyewitnesses reported students seeking refuge from the rain inside the structure when the roof abruptly collapsed. The provincial disaster prevention department’s official Facebook post confirmed that 18 victims were hospitalized following the incident.
Provincial Public Relations Department staff member, Patcharin Siri, revealed that the victims were four school-aged boys, two parents, and a school maintenance worker. Shocking images shared on the local public relations office’s Facebook page showed the chaotic aftermath, with scattered poles and twisted corrugated iron littering the ground.
In Thailand, sports fields often feature open-sided roofs, providing shade for children during the intense heat of the day. The disaster coincides with the beginning of the monsoon season, with forecasts predicting heavy rainfall across Thailand.
This incident follows on the heels of Cyclone Mocha’s impact in neighboring Myanmar, which caused 145 deaths.
