THAILAND: Nearly five million people celebrated Songkran, the Thai Solar New Year festival, from April 13 to 15 this year. It has been called the “world’s largest water fight” and “the only war we need right now.” Moreover, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said Songkran was expected to bring in more than 30.35 billion Baht (over S$1.2 billion) in tourism revenue.
However, since the festivities began, news has been published across the globe about various injuries, arrests, and even deaths that have occurred during Songkran.
On April 16, media outlets, including those in the United States and Australia, reported that more than 191 people had been killed in 72 hours, in addition to 951 accidents and 911 injuries.
The following day, Thailand’s Road Safety Operation Centre said that there had been 1,242 accidents, 1,200 injured, and 242 deaths from April 10 to 16, the week referred to as Songkran’s seven-day crackdown.
These accidents largely occurred on the road, with motorbikes as the most common vehicle involved. Speeding (40.65%) and cutting in closely (25.20%) were the leading causes, and the largest number of casualties (22.14%) were people aged 20 to 29.
On the first day of Songkran, 51 people died, with Bangkok seeing the highest number of deaths.
Other incidents
Aside from the high number of road accidents, other incidents made the news, including the arrest of seven French tourists, who were detained by authorities after getting caught on camera aggressively spraying a van and then ignoring the police who told them to disperse. This resulted in commenters online slamming the tourists for their disrespectful behaviour.
On April 18, a Filipino journalist who visited Thailand during Songkran took to TikTok to recount how he had gotten hit by a high-pressure water gun in his left eye during the festivities, which resulted in his being unable to see out of the eye for some time, and blood even came out of his eye. He and his friends then sought first aid, and he voiced concerns over almost having gone blind.
Later that day, he reported seeing a black dot in his eye, and he went to an eye hospital in Bangkok the next day to get the floater seen by a doctor, who told him he had a retinal haemorrhage. Because the condition was serious, the doctor advised him to see a specialist as soon as possible.
“It was really traumatising,” he said. Fortunately, the specialist reassured him that the blood in his eye did not need further treatment.
A Thai woman also posted on TikTok, claiming that the water gun she had been sprayed with at a party had contained gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). The substance is also known as a date-rape drug, and leaves victims unconscious and therefore open to assault.
She later suffered a seizure and was brought to the hospital for treatment, adding a screenshot of a medical certificate issued by the hospital showing that she had GHB in her system at the time of treatment.
Fewer dangerous incidents
Theerapat Katchamat, the director-general of Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said on April 17 that this year’s figures for accidents, injuries, and deaths are fewer than the average for Songkran for the past three years. Accidents are down 35.59%, injuries are down 37.53%, and deaths are down 9.7%.
Moreover, 10 provinces had no fatalities during this year’s seven-day crackdown. /TISG
Read also: Asians online slam French tourists arrested during Songkran
