Phuket landslide victim ‘doing well’

PHUKET: The local leader who was buried alive in a landslide in Phuket earlier this week is recovering well, relatives say.

The victim, 38-year-old Witsanu Yidsua, was watching television in his bedroom on Monday morning when part of a neighboring home collapsed and slid downslope, crashing through a concrete wall and burying him up to his neck in chunks of concrete and other debris.

Mr Witsanu’s brother, Boonchuay Yidsua, who led the rescue effort, said his brother is now being treated at Phuket International Hospital.

“He is getting better, but he’ll probably have to stay in there for a week,” he said.

Doctors at the hospital have ruled out the need for an MRI scan, indicating that Mr Witsanu likely did not suffer serious injury to his brain.

“Our neighbor, whose property caused the damage to our house, will pay the medical bill and fix the house when the rains stop,” Mr Boonchuay added.

In addition to being a jet-ski operator, Mr Witsanu is also the president of the Ban Mon Community Council. He was leading the fight against a plan to build a large traffic bridge over his village as part of the controversial Patong Tunnel project.

— Atchaa Khamlo