SI SAKET — Thai authorities have recovered bodies from a convenience store in Si Sa Ket province that was destroyed in the most devastating attack during the first day of fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces on Thursday.
The PTT gas station convenience store in Ban Phue, Kantharalak District, Si Sa Ket Province was struck by a BM-21 rocket, killing 8 people inside and nearby areas and injuring 13 others.
Initially, relatives and villagers could not retrieve the bodies from the building wreckage as explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts needed to clear unexploded ordnance first.
On July 25, EOD personnel began clearing explosives in the morning but had to temporarily halt operations when Cambodia launched a new wave of rockets near the incident site, forcing a temporary evacuation before completing the clearance operation.
Rescue workers from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation subsequently recovered 5 bodies, including store employees, and handed them over to forensic officials.
Mother and Two Children Among Victims
Among the casualties at the convenience store were a mother and her two children whose deaths have deeply saddened the community. The woman, identified as Rung, and her two children named Pakbung and Fee, were killed at 10:50 a.m. on July 24.
Before the incident at 9:30 a.m., Rung had posted on Facebook: “Loud thundering sound, even the glass is shaking. My heart is trembling too.” This became her final social media post.
It is believed that after posting the message, she went to pick up her children from school, which had released students early due to the border clashes. On their way home, they stopped at the gas station convenience store and encountered the fatal attack, despite being 30 kilometers from the border.
Deadliest Single Attack
This location suffered the highest casualties in the fighting between the two military forces. According to Emergency Operations Center (EOC) data, Thai civilian deaths total 13, with 6 severely injured, 14 moderately injured, and 11 with minor injuries.
The border conflict has affected 11 hospitals and medical facilities across four provinces: Si Saket, Surin, Buriram, and Ubon Ratchathani, with 7 completely shut down, 429 patients evacuated from affected hospitals, and 83,170 civilians evacuated from the area.
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