PHUKET: A mother has told for the first time of her fear that her daughter had been killed as a series of tall shelves holding heavy cans of paint collapsed on shoppers at a Phuket hardware store on Sunday.
Pichaya Seakin, 11, remains in hospital today. Mother Patchari Boontalay, 35, said: ''We were in the paint section and my husband was a little bit further along, with our other daughter, who is nine.
''Suddenly there was a loud noise and [husband] Paiboon shouted 'Get out! Get out!' I grabbed my daughter's wrist, left the shopping trolley and ran towards the end of the aisle.
''The shelves collapsed. I could only see Pichaya's foot sticking out. I screamed. Paiboon came and the two of us tried to lift the shelving off my daughter. A staffer came to help.
''The three of us couldn't shift the shelves. So I grabbed Pichaya's leg and we eased her free.
''The first words she said were, 'Mum, I am OK.' But it could have been a slit-second between life and death.''
Khun Patchari said that she was disappointed with the reaction of the Central group, which owns the HomeWorks store in Phuket City's bypass road, where the collapse occurred about 4.20pm.
''Central just sent the head of the paint section to come to talk to us,'' she said. ''No senior people have been directly involved. They have certainly offered to meet Pichaya's hospital costs.''
Pichaya's head still hurts and she has leg wounds and a bad back ache, her mother told Phuketwan.
Khun Patchari owns an electrics shop in Maeluan Road, Phuket City, and was a regular HomeWorks customer, she said.
When the shelving toppled, she left her bag with the trolley and the trolley was buried under paint cans. It was some time before the trolley and her bag could be dug out from the collapsed shelving and paint cans.
''We had to call Central to send someone to pay the bills at Bangkok Hospital Phuket after my husband and I were checked and allowed to go,'' she said.
''The one-paragraph released by Central expressing regret really isn't sufficient. My daughter could have been killed. We were all at risk.''
At a media conference today, Central Vice President (Property Management) and Phuket General Manager, Wilaiporn Pitimanaree, said that Central was keen to respond appropriately on the case and that she had been told the family was content with the response to the collapse.
''Our technical team has flown from Bangkok and will check to see what caused the collapse. Tomorrow we hope to reopen the paint section again.''
Pichaya Seakin, 11, remains in hospital today. Mother Patchari Boontalay, 35, said: ''We were in the paint section and my husband was a little bit further along, with our other daughter, who is nine.
''Suddenly there was a loud noise and [husband] Paiboon shouted 'Get out! Get out!' I grabbed my daughter's wrist, left the shopping trolley and ran towards the end of the aisle.
''The shelves collapsed. I could only see Pichaya's foot sticking out. I screamed. Paiboon came and the two of us tried to lift the shelving off my daughter. A staffer came to help.
''The three of us couldn't shift the shelves. So I grabbed Pichaya's leg and we eased her free.
''The first words she said were, 'Mum, I am OK.' But it could have been a slit-second between life and death.''
Khun Patchari said that she was disappointed with the reaction of the Central group, which owns the HomeWorks store in Phuket City's bypass road, where the collapse occurred about 4.20pm.
''Central just sent the head of the paint section to come to talk to us,'' she said. ''No senior people have been directly involved. They have certainly offered to meet Pichaya's hospital costs.''
Pichaya's head still hurts and she has leg wounds and a bad back ache, her mother told Phuketwan.
Khun Patchari owns an electrics shop in Maeluan Road, Phuket City, and was a regular HomeWorks customer, she said.
When the shelving toppled, she left her bag with the trolley and the trolley was buried under paint cans. It was some time before the trolley and her bag could be dug out from the collapsed shelving and paint cans.
''We had to call Central to send someone to pay the bills at Bangkok Hospital Phuket after my husband and I were checked and allowed to go,'' she said.
''The one-paragraph released by Central expressing regret really isn't sufficient. My daughter could have been killed. We were all at risk.''
At a media conference today, Central Vice President (Property Management) and Phuket General Manager, Wilaiporn Pitimanaree, said that Central was keen to respond appropriately on the case and that she had been told the family was content with the response to the collapse.
''Our technical team has flown from Bangkok and will check to see what caused the collapse. Tomorrow we hope to reopen the paint section again.''
I miss a review about what is the thai law saying about high shelves in mega stores. We have many thai mega stores. Do the thai mega stores realize that many foreign people living on Phuket have good international insurances? If this happens to a foreigner, his/her International insurance will sue the mega store, that plus all the negative international publicity would become a nightmare for that mega store. Mega stores,.. check and double check your shelves! That is your responsibility.
Posted by Kurt on December 9, 2014 12:08