Familiares lloran a las víctimas de la matanza en la guardería de Tailandia / Devastated families mourn victims of Thailand daycare attack
La triste procesión de padres, madres, abuelas y otros familiares directos de los asesinados se juntaba a los llantos desgarrados y rostros de desolación mientras aguardaban estoicamente a su turno
Decenas de familiares y vecinos se reunieron este viernes frente a la guardería de la pequeña y tranquila población de Uthai Sawan, el noreste de Tailandia, donde un expolicía mató a 22 niños y a una quincena de adultos, en una de las peores matanzas del país.
Los desconsolados familiares de las víctimas acudieron a una ceremonia organizada a escasos metros del centro infantil, entre una procesión de políticos, donde los funcionarios del Ministerio de Justicia les tomaban datos uno a uno.
La triste procesión de padres, madres, abuelas y otros familiares directos de los asesinados se juntaba a los llantos desgarrados y rostros de desolación mientras aguardaban estoicamente a su turno.
“Se trata de aportar evidencias para certificar que son familiares de uno de los fallecidos” en la matanza del jueves, apuntó a Efe una funcionaria de Justicia sentadas frente a una pila de papeles.
Este ministerio aporta un fondo de compensación de 110.000 bath, unos 2.940 dólares, por fallecido, excluido el asaltante.
“No sé cómo el gobierno le pone precio a la vida de una persona”, comentó con amargura a Efe Vimol Sootfanpitak, mientras abrazaba un oso de peluche y un dinosaurio de plástico, algunos de los juguetes preferidos de su sobrino de 3 años asesinado ayer.
Los cuerpos sin vida de los fallecidos están siendo trasladados desde el Hospital Nong Bua Lampu, a unos 60 kilómetros al este de la pedanía golpeada por la tragedia y capital de la homónima provincia tailandesa.
Está previsto que el primer ministro de Tailandia, Prayut Chan-ocha, visita a los familiares y les de un nuevo fondo, procedente de su oficina, para después desplazarse al citado hospital, donde recibirá al rey de Tailandia, Vajiralongkorn.
El primer ministro dio la instrucción de que todas las banderas de edificios del Gobierno permanecerán a media hasta durante todo el día de hoy en señal de duelo.
El autor de la masacre ha sido identificado como Panya Kamrab, un expolicía de 34 años de edad que fue expulsado del cuerpo por posesión de drogas y que al parecer estaba bajo los efectos de estupefacientes cuando realizó la matanza.
El exagente abrió fuego alrededor del mediodía del jueves en el interior de una guardería, donde mató a una treintena de personas, incluidos una veintena de niños, usando tanto una pistola de 9 mm que poseía legalmente como un cuchillo.
Entre las víctimas mortales en la guardería, que acogía a niños desde los dos años, hay una maestra que estaba embarazada, mientras que 15 personas han sido heridas, 8 de ellas de gravedad.
Tras la matanza en la guardería, el autor se dirigió a su casa, donde asesinó a su mujer e hijo y se suicidó.
El comisario de la Policía, Damrongsak Kittiprapas, indicó este jueves que el autor del ataque, inmerso en un juicio por posesión de drogas y expulsado de la policía, «probablemente estaba estresado y con alucinaciones (por el uso de Yaba o metanfetamina)».
Los tiroteos en Tailandia son raros, pero en 2020 un soldado mató al menos a 29 personas e hirió a 58 en un incidente que se desarrolló en varios lugares, incluido un campamento militar y un gran centro comercial en la provincia nororiental de Nakhon Ratchasima.
El mes pasado, un militar mató a tiros a dos colegas e hirió a otro en la Escuela de Guerra del Comando de Entrenamiento del Ejército en Bangkok.
La matanza perpetrada en Uthai Sawan es una de las más graves registradas en un centro escolar en el mundo, al margen de conflictos armados o ataques terrorista. Por EFE -octubre 7, 2022
Devastated families mourn victims of Thailand daycare attack
Thailand in shock over deaths of children as young as two in mass stabbing and shooting at a nursery.
In her eighth month of pregnancy, the 25-year-old teacher went to work as usual on Thursday at a kindergarten in northeastern Thailand where her students were no more than two years of age.
Excited for the birth that was due around October 23 or 24, Supaporn’s parents had hoped their new grandchild would one day attend the same nursery where her mother taught.
But on Thursday, Supaporn and her unborn child were among the 37 killed in one of the worst knife and gun rampages that Thailand had ever witnessed.
“Tears are falling inside my heart,” said Pranee Srisutham, Supaporn’s mother.
“I can’t cry, I can’t speak.”
Supaporn’s husband had no words. Nothing could express his sorrow.
“I’m speechless,” he said, the anguish burning in his eyes.
The bodies of those killed in the as-yet unexplained attack, by 34-year-old former police officer Panya Khamrab, on the nursery — located in Na Klang District, Nong Bua Lamphu province about 500km (310 miles) northeast of the capital Bangkok — will be autopsied before being released to their families.
Doctors worked through the night on Thursday to complete the task and return the remains of their loved ones to families so religious ceremonies could be performed.
Local medical staff said on Friday that 37 people had died, many of them children. Flags at government offices flew at half-mast, while Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and King Maha Vajiralongkorn travelled to the northeast on Friday.
‘The children were sleeping’
Supaporn’s family, her mother, father, husband, and other relatives gathered on Thursday evening at an emergency centre set up near the nursery.
By 9.00pm (14:00 GMT) many families at the Joint Incident Management Centre had already waited as long as eight hours for news of the completion of autopsies and the return of remains.
An area of the centre was marked off for use by a team of psychologists who worked with relatives, listening to stories of loss by those who could speak and doing what they could to bring some comfort to the many tortured hearts and minds.
Parents at the incident centre were in a state of visible shock and heartbreak. Nearby, small coffins had been lined up for the bodies.
Teacher Nanticha Panchum survived the attack.
She told Al Jazeera she saw the gunman walking into the school and had witnessed him attack several people outside.
Panchum said she told her colleague to lock the doors. But the gunman started to smash the glass as she fled to the back of the building and climbed a wall to escape the school compound.
“I was scared because he had a gun. I had no weapons,” Panchum said.
“But, I didn’t think he would do that to the children,” she said.
“The children were sleeping during the day. They were in all three rooms. The teachers were in rooms as well, including the pregnant teacher,” she said.
After scaling a wall to escape the school with another teacher and a cleaner, Panchum said she ran to get help as the sound of gunfire came from the school.
“I heard children cry for a moment and then it was completely silent,” she said.
After running for a while, Panchum met a local district official who was driving by and begged him to go to the school to help.
They approached the building cautiously until they were sure the attacker had left, she said.
“Later, I knew that he’d gone. So we went in and we saw small children were dead, including teachers.”
Drug offence
Panchum said she still cannot believe what had happened.
She had recognised the attacker as a parent who had come to the school quite often to drop off his child. She described him as a quiet person and also polite.
“But this time, he was different from every other time,” she said, describing a look in his eyes “as if he had got angry or got stressed with someone”.
Local officials identified the killer as former Police Lieutenant Colonel Panya Khamrab, who once served at the Na Wang Police Station in Nong Bua Lamphu province, before being fired in June 2022 from the government for drug offences related to methamphetamine.
Danaichot Bunsom, the head of the Uthai Sawan sub-district administrative office, said the suspected killer’s mother had approached him recently to ask if he could help with her son’s drug charge as he was due to appear in court.
The sub-district chief said he declined because he had no authority to deal with the courts.
“His mother asked me to help, but I said I couldn’t. After I refused, she left my house politely,” he said.
“I don’t know the motive for this incident. I only know he had a drug-related case,” he said.
By Hathairat Phaholtap
Published On 7 Oct 2022
7 Oct 2022
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