BTS offers assistance to victims but says escalator crush was “out of their control”

The BTS Skytrain is offering “assistance” to anyone who was injured in the escalator crush which occurred at BTS Surasak Station in Bangkok on Saturday night. The statement was made yesterday by the Chief Operating Director of the BTS Sumit Srisantithum, who said the incident was “beyond the BTS’s control.”

As a crowd of people crammed into BTS Surasak Station to escape the rain on Saturday night, a group of people fell down an upward moving escalator. Thai media widely reported that 27 people suffered “minor injuries.”

However, one 17 year old victim was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery when her leg was “torn” in the fall, exposing her bone. The doctor says she will not be able to walk for at least three months and will have to take one month off school.

With her medical bills amounting to hundreds of thousands of baht, she was left wondering whether the BTS would be held responsible for the incident and if they would provide compensation. She said that she and around 20 other injured people were waiting to hear from the BTS Skytrain.

Officials from the BTS have since visited the 17 year old victim and presented her with a gift basket – one of the officials throwing up a “peace” sign with her fingers. The BTS didn’t state whether they paid for the victim’s medical bills.

The BTS’s statement says that anyone who was injured on Saturday and needs “assistance” can contact the BTS Customer Relations Centre on 026176000, via their Line account @btsskytrain or via their official Facebook page.

The BTS did not say what they would be offering to victims in terms of compensation, only that injured people should contact them to discuss what “assistance” could be provided.

Sumit apologised for the incident, but also said it was a force majeure…

“The company would like to express our apologies for the incident which occurred. After the accident, which was beyond our control, we would like to inform you of the progress made. We have met with the relevant agencies about how to we can ensure the safety of passengers even more so.”

However, some victims believe the crush could have been avoided. The 17 year old victim said that there wasn’t a single member of staff present to control the crowd or stop people getting on the escalator.

SOURCE: สรยุทธ สุทัศนะจินดา กรรมกรข่าว