The son of the 57-year-old woman named Ms Supannie Kittiratana who is being treated in a sterile environment at Bumrungrad Hospital, said that his mother was suffering mentally from the shock and trauma of what happened to her and was receiving psychiatric care.
Police investigating the shocking incident last Thursday at Don Mueang International Airport in which a 57-year-old woman lost the bottom half of her left leg on an automatic walkway escalator appealed, on Tuesday, for the airport’s authorities to hand over CCTV footage of the accident as officers try to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the freak occurrence in which the woman’s legs become enmeshed in the device. Following a conference on Tuesday between investigators at Don Mueang Police Station, the Superintendent, Police Colonel Adirek Thongkaemkaew made the appeal noting that, in the past, airport authorities had always cooperated promptly and even now, the case may not be delayed. Last week, the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted the case as of major importance to the kingdom and its foreign tourism economy at this time while calling for a rigorous enquiry.
Police at Don Mueang Police Station adjacent to Don Mueang International Airport, on Tuesday, took the unusual step of alerting the media to the fact that officers investigating the tragic accident which occurred last Thursday, the 29th of June, which saw a 57-year-old woman travelling from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat via Terminal 2 at the facility lose half her left leg, have not yet received CCTV footage of the accident which was requested on the day of the accident.
The woman’s leg became stuck with a moving walkway escalator, resulting in her losing the bottom half of her limb below the knee as medical responders and hospital doctors reacted to her condition.
Accident received worldwide media attention due to the freak nature of the incident and the presence of such devices at all international airports
The victim in the accident and a viral news story flashed across the world because of the freak nature of what happened, has been named as Supannie Kittiratana who is currently being treated at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, where doctors have her condition under close observation.
On Tuesday at 10.30 am, at Don Mueang Police Station, officers under Police Lieutenant Colonel Osot Phapan who is heading up the investigation, gathered to review evidence in the case.
It is understood attention focused quickly on the absence of CCTV footage to determine the exact circumstances which led to the tragic occurrence.
Freak escalator accident sees a 57-year-old female passenger’s leg severed at Don Mueang Airport
In the aftermath of last Thursday’s tragedy, management at the airport, led by the director, Mr Karun Thanakuljeerapat, assured the victim and all those involved in the accident that their medical costs would be covered and that compensation would be addressed at a later stage.
Automatic walkway installed in 1996. On Thursday, airport management suggested CCTV footage of what happened was obscure because of distance and angle
Management insisted to reporters that the automatic walkway had been maintained on a monthly, quarterly and daily basis by a certified Thai company working in association with the Japanese firm Hitachi which had manufactured 20 such installations used by the airport.
The installation in question had been installed at Don Mueang International Airport in 1996 and was due to be replaced in 2025.
On Thursday, reporters were told that CCTV footage covering the area where the accident occurred was obscured because of a problem relating to the angle and the distance from the nearest camera.
On Tuesday, Police Colonel Adirek Thongkaemkaew, the Don Mueang Police Chief, confirmed that a letter had been sent to airport authorities after the accident on Thursday requesting the CCTV footage in question.
He confirmed that the police had not yet received what they required.
Police are interviewing witnesses to the accident. Prime Minister has ordered that the case be given top priority as it impacts the country’s image
He told reporters that officers were currently interviewing witnesses related to the case to understand from them just how the accident occurred at 8.27 am on Thursday 29th June 2023.
‘The main issue is the operation of the moving walkway. Did it operate normally? If it was normal, how did the accident happen?’ the senior policeman asked reporters as he briefed them on the progress of the investigation.
He noted that the management of Don Mueang Airport had always been cooperative with the police in dealing with past cases.
He urged them, at this point, to forward the CCTV footage in question so that the investigation be carried out as expeditiously as possible and without delay.
On Thursday, after news of the accident broke, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan Ocha issued a strong statement, suggesting that the incident was of concern to the government because many of the passengers that passed through Don Mueang Airport were foreign tourists and international visitors to Thailand.
He said it impacted the country’s international image abroad.
Main international airport in Thailand until 2006
Up until September 2006, Don Mueang Airport was Thailand’s main international airport before Suvarnabhumi Airport opened at that time.
In recent days, engineering authorities in Thailand who have been working on examining the moving escalator, have suggested that a rolling wheel on the unfortunate woman’s suitcase may have lodged itself under the platform and, through the force of its operation, created a cavity into which her leg had fallen in.
The engineers confirmed management claims that maintenance and inspection of the automatic walkway were conducted diligently on a daily basis before the accident.
Engineering Institute on Friday said woman’s luggage on wheels was a key factor causing the machine to break and malfunction and issued an advisory
The Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) used the opportunity to warn all travellers using similar airport installations in Thailand and anywhere in the world to refrain from using carrier bags with wheels while also paying attention to smartphones while travelling on such devices.
The injured woman is being held in an intensive care unit at Bumrungrad Hospital in a sterile environment. Doctors are reportedly concerned that the wound to her leg as a result of the amputation of the bottom half of her left limb may be still in danger of becoming infected.
Taking to Facebook, her son expressed ongoing concern for his mother’s condition, in particular her mental state caused by the shock and trauma of the accident.
He highlighted the prospect facing his mother of suddenly living without the use of one of her legs in the future.
He confirmed that she was receiving assistance from clinical psychiatrists.
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