Thai quake victim’s devastated parents get just 15,000 baht compensation
The devastated parents of a Thai woman who was killed during Monday’s earthquake in Turkey have been told they are entitled to just 15,017 baht compensation for her death – barely enough to cover her funeral.
Chamaiporn Homsantia, 28, was reportedly sleeping when the 7.8 magnitude quake shook the southern Turkish town of Iskenderun, where she worked as a traditional Thai masseuse.
Her body was later retrieved from the rubble after the hotel collapsed along with many other buildings in the town.
Chamaiporn’s distraught mother, Boonchu, said the last time she talked to her daughter was on Saturday.
On Wednesday, she broke down when she was told that her daughter was among the thousands killed in the disaster.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks rumbled through southern Turkey and northern Syria, leaving over 21,000 people dead as of Friday and affecting millions more in both countries.
Chamaiporn was the main provider for the family, which includes two disabled members, said Boonchu. She added that her daughter had been working in Turkey for four years at a 10-storey hotel that collapsed during the earthquake.
However, Chaiyaphum social security office said Chamaiporn quit the social security fund in 2015 and had pending benefits of only 15,017 baht. The small sum has been paid to her family for funeral arrangements.
The Department of Labour said Chamaiporn went to work in Turkey by herself and was never a member of the department’s TOEA (Thailand Overseas Employment Administration) Fund, which provides compensation for Thai workers injured or killed overseas.
The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it is coordinating with local authorities to bring Chamaiporn’s body back to Thailand for her funeral. The ministry also posted the following contact information for Thais who have been affected by the earthquake:
- The Royal Thai Embassy in Ankara can be contacted by phone at +90 533 641 5698 (available 24/7) or on facebook.com/rteankara/
- Department of Consular Affairs: (02) 572 8442 (available 24/7)
- Emergency numbers for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria: 096 165 7120, 096 352 9015, 096 352 0513.
The embassy in Ankara is open as usual, but consular services have been suspended as officials have been deployed to assist Thais in the affected zones.
Thailand sends USAR team
A Thai urban search and rescue (USAR) team has joined disaster-relief efforts in Turkey after leaving Thailand on Thursday night.
The “Thailand for Turkey” team comprises 42 members, including medics and experts from the Engineering Institute of Thailand. On board with the team were two sniffer dogs.
The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said the team will establish an emergency centre as a search-and-rescue base as well as provide medical assistance. The team is fully equipped with rescue gear, medical supplies and satellite communication equipment, it added.
The CP Group has donated food and other necessities for the team to deliver to quake victims, said the department.
