A five-year-old boy was killed and his three siblings were seriously injured early Tuesday morning when a section of the balcony of their family’s fourth-floor apartment in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi district collapsed.
Hua Mark police and rescue workers summoned at 1.30am found the four Thai-Swiss siblings on the ground outside the five-storey Kesaree Apartment building on Soi Ramkhamhaeng 34 amid shards of broken dishes.
Khanatcha Niran Borell, 5, died from a head injury at Ram Khamhaeng Hospital, deputy inspector Pol Lieutenant Ratchanon Pengmuen said. Luca Niran Borell, 11, and Chanida Niran Borell, 7, were in the same hospital’s ICU ward and at press time had still not regained consciousness. Pamela Niran Borell, 10, was treated for a broken leg at Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital. Police found that the balcony of the apartment where the children lived with their grandparents and Thai mother had been extended with wooden planks by two feet. The fastenings had come loose. The extension was designed to store dishes, but police suspect the children were sitting or standing on it or near it when it gave way. The grandfather, Id Prakaikaew, 68, said his daughter separated from her Swiss husband four years ago and rented the apartment. He and his wife lived there to help mind the kids overnight while she worked. The children were asleep when Id and the grandmother retired for the night, only to be awakened by a siren. Id said they were heartbroken to see the children lying injured on the ground below. Neighbours said the four were good children who studied hard and helped with chores as the family struggled to make ends meet. They appealed for state agencies to help cover the family’s medical bills. nation
Bangkok boy, 5, killed, siblings hurt as apartment balcony gives way
