News from Thailand – December 31, 2014
On this page you can read a bird's-eye view of the most important Thai news. We list headlines from major news sources including: Bangkok Post, The Nation, ThaiPBS, MCOT, etc.
There is a web link behind the news items. When you click on it you can read the full article at the English source. The news page is updated several times a day so that you always read the latest and most current news.
News from Thailand – December 31, 2014
– On the last day of 2014, The Nation opens with the message that the first bodies of the victims of flight Z8501 have been found and recovered. Yesterday it became clear that the Airbus, which disappeared from the radar with 162 passengers on Sunday, crashed in the Java Sea. Wreckage and some bodies were found about half way between Surabaya and Singapore. However, the search was limited yesterday due to the wind, rain and high waves. According to the Indonesian Navy, 40 bodies have been recovered.
More than 60 divers have now been deployed to get the black boxes to the surface, among other things. The boxes must answer the question of how the disaster could have happened. The largest part of the aircraft, the fuselage, has not yet been found. It appears the plane was intact when it crashed. The bodies found also appear to be virtually undamaged.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced that ships and helicopters will begin a massive search today. The Indonesian services are receiving help from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and the United States. Once bodies are recovered from the water, they are taken to Surabaya for identification. Many relatives have gathered there: http://goo.gl/RMhrZA
– The balance after the first of a total of seven dangerous days during the New Year's holiday has resulted in 58 road deaths. The Road Safety Center reported today that there had been 508 road accidents with 58 fatalities and 517 injuries. Drunkenness was the main cause of the accidents at almost 37%. Motorcycles were involved in 82% of the crashes: http://t.co/1ihYk5j0m2
– An Airbus A340-600 of Thai Airways, with 226 passengers on board flying to London, returned to Suvarnabhumi airport near Bangkok yesterday because the pilot noticed a technical problem with the hydraulic system. At the airport, the passengers transferred to another aircraft: http://t.co/u2s9cvaEFK
– A court in Thailand has sentenced two of the six suspects to death for the murder of businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr last year, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment because the suspects have confessed. Akeyuth's assassination was big news last year, as he was known as a major critic of then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin. There was a lot of speculation at the time about who would be the mastermind behind the murder of the businessman. The court now came up with evidence that it would be about money. Akeyuth's driver and an accomplice allegedly stole 6,6 million baht: http://goo.gl/t16NYk
– A 52-year-old Danish tourist died during an excursion to the Phi Phi islands. The man had entered the water with others to snorkel, but after some time he did not move anymore. When the Dane was taken out of the water he was already dead: http://t.co/xFXU5GMHAJ
– The Phuket police are hunting two men on a motorcycle who shot and killed an 18-year-old Thai. The victim was riding his motorbike on the Phun Pol Road last night with a pillion passenger. Suddenly two men rode up next to them and the victim was shot in the back. He died later that night in hospital. The motive for this assassination attempt is unclear because the man is not part of a youth gang or otherwise involved in criminal activities: http://goo.gl/dynnSc
– A five-year-old girl died on Tuesday in an accident between a train and a pick-up truck (see photo). Her uncle was seriously injured. The driver of the car was trying to cross a railway line in Udon Thani province and probably overlooked the train: http://t.co/nljBuu36Hn
– A Cambodian man (27) in Jomtien choked on fried chicken and then suffocated: http://t.co/mKVk9lX8Ux
This morning on Thai TV a comparison was made with last year: the first few days when 48 deaths compared to 58 road deaths already! The aim was to reduce the number of victims with more police surveillance and to make the public aware of the danger of alcohol in traffic. Indeed, many checkpoints have been set up on the highways (as far as I can speak about the Chiangrai/Chiangmai region), but those on the local roads have been forgotten. The fact that more than a third of the number of accidents is due to excessive alcohol consumption makes us fear the worst. Hopefully no new records will be set!
Thailand really needs to ask yourself why it is that the nation still ranks third worldwide in terms of overall road unsafety during the year, and has done so since time immemorial. Coming week it will continue to be extra alert, even more than usual, if you participate in traffic: as a driver himself, but also as a passenger. By the way: it remains incomprehensible to me that farang tourists without helmets race on scooters over the mountain roads of Chiangrai.
Thanks again for all this work for us ungrateful.
May I wish everyone here a happy new year and all the best for 2015.