The police in Ubon Ratchathani Province suspected a little green snake might be the cause of a fire at the branch of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Samrong district.
The police received the report of a fire at a two-story building around 08:40 on November 5. Initial efforts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful. So the authorities called for a water truck from the Samrong Municipal and Ubon Ratchathani Provincial Administrative Organisations to help. It took almost an hour to bring the fire under control.
The investigation revealed that the fire had broken out in the bank manager’s and deputy manager’s offices and in the customer service area. The bank’s cash storage area was not damaged.
Mr Amporn Boonsingh, a 59-year-old bank security employee, informed the police that there had been a loud explosion at around 8.20 am. He checked the electrical fuse box and found a blown fuse, which he reported to the bank employees on duty. About 20 minutes later, he smelled an odour of burning and saw the fire at the back of the bank. He then called the police for help.
When inspecting the fuse box, the police discovered the remains of a green snake about 30 centimetres long under the electricity pylon. The snake had burn marks on its head, which led them to suspect that the snake had caused a short circuit that led to the fire.
The authorities have collected evidence for further investigations to determine the exact cause of the fire.
“Nop Narongdej” reveals important facts to prove his innocence; the court decided in favour of him
The family’s case was overturned, “Nop Narongdej” reveals important facts to prove his innocence; the court decided in favour of him as the defendant continuously throughout the 6-year period.
As for Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda, the court has dismissed all cases, confirming her innocence in the case of forging signatures and forging documents.
Nop Narongdej, along with Weerawong Chittmittrapap, his legal advisor, and Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda, with Apiwut Thongkam, her legal advisor, provided critical information on November 2 to refute every accusation, family lawsuit, and Wind Energy Holding (WEH) stock case.
Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda, with Apiwut Thongkam, her legal advisor,
They are ready to reveal the truth and confirm their innocence after a long period of silence. The court has ruled in their favor for the sixth consecutive time, explaining that “there is no reason to fake the signature because the Narongdej family had no involvement in investing in WEH shares.” The court also clarified the financial path and Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda’s investment.
Over the past six years, Nop Narongdej chose not to respond, waiting for the court to resolve all cases. He has now come forward to explain the facts and make it clear, ready to prove the truth and address all accusations that have been misconstrued due to incomplete information, which resulted in misunderstandings.
Regarding the investment in WEH stocks, it is Nop’s personal investment and not related to the family. Unfortunately, the saddest thing for Nop in these past 6 years was the involvement of his father, Dr. Kasem Narongdej, being involved in this unfortunate situation as certain individuals wanted to benefit from the WEH shares acquired by Nop.
Additionally, Nop Narongdej and his children have not had the opportunity to meet their father/grandad throughout these past years due to the ongoing conflicts between siblings. As a result of this, despite several attempts to meet their father/grandad which were met with intervention. Nop and his sons still long to meet their father/grandad again.
Nop Narongdej, along with Weerawong Chittmittrapap, his legal advisor
Family Business Issues
Currently, the remaining company with Kris, Nop, and Korn as joint shareholders is KPN Land Co., Ltd. with each sibling holding 1/3 of the shares. However, once the conflict arose between the siblings in regards to the shares of Wind Energy Holding Co., Ltd. this led to Nop being excluded from participating in any management or decision-making within the family’s company. This conflict also affected KPN Land Co., Ltd. as it became a shareholder of Raimon Land Public Co., Ltd.
In terms of his own personal business, Nop Narongdej owns KPN Music Institute, which he founded in accordance with his mother’s wishes (Khunying Pornthip Narongdej) and successfully led it to a point where it has established franchises around the country.
In addition to this, Nop also has a healthcare business having invested in the creation of a new international hospital alongside two other partner companies.
Unveiling the Truth! Summaries of Verdicts and Winning Lawsuits Spanning Six Years
Case 1 – Hong Kong Case HCA 1525/2018
Kasem Narongdej acted as the plaintiff in this case, filing a lawsuit against Golden Music Limited, the 1st defendant, Nop Narongdej, the 2nd defendant, and Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda, the 3rd defendant, in 2018. The lawsuit pertained to the allegation that Dr. Kasem owns the shares in Golden Music Limited with the attempt to revoke the share transfer between Dr. Kasem and Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda and seek an emergency injunction order freezing the shares in Golden Music Limited.
Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda
Nevertheless, after the defendant defended and proved with evidence to the court, Dr. Kasem suddenly and groundlessly withdrew this case. The court finds that Dr. Kasem’s reasons for withdrawing the case is groundless and that Dr. Kasem did not act in good faith in pursuing this case so the court ordered him to make the payment of expenses incurred during this case at the highest rate allowed by the court to the defendants.
Case 2 – Case of using forged documents, A. 2497/2018 (Ratchada Criminal Court) The plaintiff, Kasem Narongdej, asserted in this case that he was a significant shareholder of Golden Music Limited and filed a lawsuit against Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda, the 1st defendant, Nop Narongdej, the 2nd defendant, and Surat Chiracharasporn, the 3rd defendant accusing them for the usage of the forged documents in relation to Golden Music.. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s case due to expert witnesses not being able to readily distinguish if they were forged or not.
Additionally, the family’s financial support was also determined by the court to be a loan which Nop was solely responsible and liable for. Therefore, in the eyes of the law this does not constitute a join investment and there is no motive for the defendants to forge the alleged documents. Furthermore, the prosecutions witnesses were unable to be considered by the court as the 3 documents were forgeries.
Case 3 – Property Recovery Case P.1031/2019 (Southern Bangkok Civil Court)
Kasem Narongdej was the plaintiff who initiated this lawsuit against 14 defendants and 31 co-defendants to recover assets (Wind Energy Holding Co., Ltd. shares) in 2019. The plaintiff sought an injunction order and the defendants filed the appeal. The Court of Appeal revoked the said injunction order regarding the seizure of the dividends from Wind Energy Holding and determined that the plaintiff had no legal standing to bring about this case to begin with.
Following the Court of Appeal’s decision, the plaintiff groundlessly requested to withdraw the case on the 20th of July, 2023. . Finally, even though the plaintiff claims to have given the shares to Nop and at a later dated requested for it to be returned it must be determined that Nop had acted ungratefully. However, the there was no reason to believe that Nop acted ungratefully.
Case 4 –Breach of Contact Case, Property Recovery P.978/2022 (Southern Bangkok Civil Court)
Kris and Korn Narongdej as co-plaintiffs sued Nop Narongdej, the 1st defendant, Wind Energy Holding Co., Ltd, as the 2nd defendant, Golden Music Limited, as the 3rd and Khunying Korkaew Boonyachinda as the fourth defendant in this 2022 legal dispute regarding a contract revocation and property recovery. The judgement in this case was the dismissal of the case.
Both of the plaintiffs had failed to challenge the legal presumption that the documents related to the transfer of shares were not genuine or were inadmissible as evidence for any reason. The various claims by both plaintiffs were unsubstantiated and carried no weight to counter the legal presumptions.
As a result of the plaintiff being unable to establish their case, the judge was compelled to believe that the transfer and purchase of the disputed shares were valid according to the law. The shares had indeed been transferred and acquired in accordance with legal procedures, and as such were not been deemed invalid.
As for the claims of ownership by the plaintiffs, it became evident that the funds used to purchase the disputed shares did not belong to either plaintiff and the documents they alleged to have been fraudulent were genuine and transfer of shares done in accordance with legal procedures. Therefore, it cannot be asserted that the two plaintiffs are the rightful owners of the disputed shares, and there is no requirement to return shares to them.
Nop Narongdej
Case 5 – Signature Forgery Case A.1708/2021 (Southern Bangkok Criminal Court)
In this case, the plaintiff was the Office of the Attorney General (Special Prosecutor’s Office, Southern Bangkok Criminal Division 1). They filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Nop Narongdej and 3 other individuals for the offenses of jointly forging rights documents.
The court in this case exercised its discretion and dismissed the case. Concluding that all 5 documents in question were indeed falsified, although proof and evidence including statements were presented including the testimony of Kasem they were unable to provide any evidence linking Khunying Korkaew and Ms.Supaporn to the forgeries or that they were involved in the registration.
Kris also stated that he had no knowledge of who signed the counterfeit signature. Whilst Korn testified that he was not present at the time of signing. Consequently, it is evident that the accused were not involved in the fabrication or use of the forged documents.
Security officers patrol on Nov. 11, 2019, in Pattani province.
Beyond whether you are for Israel or Palestine in the latest war, some Thai-Malay Muslims see the latest conflict in the middle east through a different prism. Soon after Hamas’ inhumane attack against Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s counterattack, a Thai Malay-Muslim Facebook friend said he feels as if Palestine is Pattani and Thailand is Israel.
This reflects the long-simmering views that the deep south, or the four-southernmost provinces of Thailand today, namely Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla, have been an internal colony of Thailand for over a century now and some local people still aspire for an independent homeland.
This is not something most Thais want to hear, however. Majority of the Thai press routinely refer to separatists (or freedom fighters, depending on your views) as “southern bandits” or “joen tai” (โจรใต้) in order to degrade and delegitimize the struggles of these people in the deep south.
Writing for Prachatai English, Japanese scholar Hara Shintaro, a resident of Pattani who married a Thai-Malay Muslim, recently penned an article on the impact of “Palestine-Israel crisis on Patani/the southern border provinces of Thailand” and noted, “the reactions of the local Muslims are most visible in Facebook activism, such as posting political messages or changing profile pictures to include symbols displaying sympathetic support for the Palestinians.”
Shintaro also quoted a statement by BRN (Barisan Revolusi Nasional), the prominent Malay separatist group, saying “BRN and Patani Malay Muslims stand by the Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine because we are both colonized, and our fight against the colonizers (the Siamese in Patani and the Israelis in Palestine) is legitimate.” Shintaro then noted the new Srettha Thavisin administration has yet to resume the “peace dialogue” which has been suspended for eight months now.
I have heard some Thais saying in the past only a tiny number of radicals in the deep south want to see an independent Pattani homeland, or Patani (with one “t”), as those for its independence prefer to call it. Others said we can talk about independent Pattani after Americans leave America to the native Americans, Canadians leave Canada to the First Nations, and Australians leave Australia to the aboriginal people.
While there may be some basis of uncomfortable truth in that, what we can and should do is to devolve power, or at least decentralize the deep south and make local Thai-Malay Muslims feel less like second class citizens and more like a truly equal partner of Thailand.
It is clear at this stage that most non-Muslim Thais would ‘naturally’ be against an independent Pattani, but it should not mean we need to continue to treat Thai-Malay Muslims like second class citizens. For example, Move Forward Party made the right move recently when its MPs, including Rangsiman Rome, who chairs the House Committee on Security Affairs, met with Defense Minister Suthin Klangsaeng earlier this week in a bid to convince him and the government to lift the prolonged emergency decree in many parts of the deep south sooner than later.
We need to reduce the restrictive security measures in the deep south that alienate and repress people there, and more, and hopefully sometime in the future we can perhaps calmly and collectively decide about the future course of the deep south.
Police vehicles and ambulances arrive at the scene of a security breach at the Hamburg Airport, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Hamburg, Germany. (Jonas Walzberg/dpa via AP)
BERLIN (AP) — The hostage situation at Hamburg Airport ended Sunday afternoon, around 18 hours after a man drove his vehicle through the gates of the airport with his 4-year-old daughter inside, authorities said. The man was arrested and the girl appears to be unharmed.
Hamburg police tweeted that “the hostage situation is over. The suspect has left the car with his daughter. … The child appears to be unharmed.”
Police also said that “the man was arrested by the emergency services without resistance.”
Police vehicles block access to Hamburg Airport during an operation, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Hamburg, Germany. (Bodo Marks/dpa via AP)
The airport in the northern German city had been closed to passengers and flights canceled since Saturday night when the man, who was armed, broke through an airport gate with his vehicle and fired twice into the air with a weapon, according to German news agency dpa. The man drove the vehicle just outside a terminal building and parked it under a plane.
Authorities said the man’s wife had previously contacted them about a child abduction.
Police said that the 35-year-old man had his daughter inside the car after reportedly taking her by force from the mother in a possible custody battle.
Police guard the scene of a security breach at the Hamburg Airport, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Hamburg, Germany. (Jonas Walzberg/dpa via AP)
A psychologist had been negotiating with the man for 18 hours. Nobody was injured during the standoff after all passengers had evacuated the airport, police said.
The mother of the girl also arrived at the airport earlier on Sunday.
Police spokeswoman Sandra Levgruen said that officers were checking whether the suspect “still has any explosive devices on him or with him or whether they are still in the car,” dpa reported.
“We are currently assuming that he is unharmed, but he is still lying on the ground in the care of the police,” she said.
More than 100 flights were canceled and several planes were rerouted. Thousands of travelers had been affected by the standoff and hundreds were put up at hotels close by.
A man gets out of his vehicle near an airplane with his child in his arms at Hamburg Airport, Germany, Sunday Nov. 5, 2023. (Jonas Walzberg/dpa via AP)
Police said Sunday afternoon that preparations were underway for the fastest possible resumption of flight operations.
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher expressed relief that nobody was injured in the incident.
“The hostage-taking at Hamburg Airport is over after long, dramatic hours,” Tschentscher wrote on X, thanking police for their efforts.
“I wish the mother, the child and her family a lot of strength to cope with these terrible experiences,” he added.
An American man and a Luxembourgian woman died on the spot in a road accident in Phuket Province, while the female Russian driver was injured.
The incident happened near the Friendship Beach Resort entrance on Wiset Road, on the way to Rawai Beach. Phuket Police officers from Chalong Police Station were notified at 1:00 a.m. on November 5, and they then contacted a forensic doctor from Vachira Phuket Hospital, as well as staff from the Rawai Municipal Rescue Unit and the Phuket Foundation, to assist with the scene examination.
A grey BYD car with a Phuket licence plate, driven by Miss Irina, 41 years old, Russian nationality, collided with a Honda Click motorcycle with a red licence plate in Phuket Province, driven by Mr. Nickolas Joseph Ayoub, age 21 years, American nationality from New York State, and Miss Schintgen Cey-lan, age 19 years, Luxembourgian nationality, sitting behind.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene. A forensic doctor indicated during the initial autopsy that there were wounds all over the body and that some muscles were torn. He handed over the bodies to rescue workers, who took them to Vachira Phuket Hospital. The police also notified the couple’s two embassies to report their deaths to their families.
Officials also noted at the scene that the electric pole, traffic signal poles, and electrical wires had been damaged. After being taken to the hospital by the rescuers, the Russian driver will be investigated.
Palestinians strike the concrete while looking for survivors under the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The United States and Arab partners disagreed Saturday on the need for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as Israeli military strikes killed civilians at a U.N. shelter and a hospital, and Israel said the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers were “encountering the full force” of its troops.
Large columns of smoke rose as Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the initial target of its offensive to crush Hamas. Gaza’s Health Ministry has said more than 9,400 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in nearly a month of war, and that number is likely to rise as the assault continues.
“Anyone in Gaza City is risking their life,” Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said.
In the night from Saturday to Sunday, airstrikes hit the Maghazi refugee camp in the central area of Gaza, and Palestinian health officials reported multiple casualties. Maghazi is in the evacuation zone where Israel had urged Palestinians to seek refuge.
Tails of fire caused by Israeli bombardment, fall over Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Arab countries want an immediate cease-fire, saying “the whole region is sinking in a sea of hatred that will define generations to come.”
Blinken, however, said “it is our view now that a cease-fire would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7.” He said humanitarian pauses can be critical in protecting civilians, getting aid in and getting foreign nationals out, “while still enabling Israel to achieve its objective, the defeat of Hamas.”
As he left church in Delaware on Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden hinted at progress in efforts to convince Israel to agree to a humanitarian pause, responding “Yes,” to reporters’ questions about any forward movement on the subject. He did not elaborate.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told reporters in Beirut that Blinken “should stop the aggression and should not come up with ideas that cannot be implemented.” The spokesman of the Hamas military wing, who goes by Abu Obeida, said in a speech that fighters had destroyed 24 Israeli vehicles and inflicted casualties in the past two days.
Palestinians comfort a crying man after losing relatives under the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
Egyptian officials said they and Qatar were proposing humanitarian pauses for six to 12 hours daily to allow aid in and casualties to be evacuated. They were also asking for Israel to release a number of women and elderly prisoners in exchange for hostages, suggestions Israel seemed unlikely to accept. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press on the discussions.
Israel has repeatedly demanded that northern Gaza’s 1.1 million residents flee south, and on Saturday it offered a three-hour window for residents to do so. An Associated Press journalist on the road, however, saw nobody coming. The head of the government media office in Gaza, Salama Maarouf, said no one went south because the Israeli military had damaged the road.
But Israel asserted that Hamas “exploited” the window to move south and attack its forces. There was no immediate Hamas comment on that claim, which was impossible to verify.
Some Palestinians said they didn’t flee because they feared Israeli bombardment.
“We don’t trust them,” said Mohamed Abed, who sheltered with his wife and children on the grounds of al-Shifa hospital, one of thousands of Palestinians seeking safety at medical centers in the north.
Swaths of residential neighborhoods in northern Gaza have been leveled in airstrikes. U.N. monitors say more than half of northern Gaza’s remaining residents, estimated at around 300,000, are sheltering in U.N.-run facilities. But deadly Israeli strikes have also repeatedly hit and damaged those shelters. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees has said it has lost contact with many in the north.
On Saturday, two strikes hit a U.N. school sheltering thousands just north of Gaza City, killing several people in tents in the schoolyard and women who were baking bread inside the building, according to the U.N. agency. Initial reports indicated that 20 people were killed, said spokeswoman Juliette Touma. The health ministry in Gaza said 15 people were killed at the school and another 70 wounded.
Also Saturday, two people were killed in a strike by the gate of al-Nasser Hospital in Gaza City, according to Medhat Abbas, health ministry spokesman. And a strike hit near the entrance to the emergency ward of al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, injuring at least 21, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The World Health Organization called attacks on health care in Gaza “unacceptable.”
Black smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, a Lebanese border village with Israel in south Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. The Lebanon-Israel border has been the site of regular clashes between Israeli forces on one side and Hezbollah and Palestinian armed groups on the other since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Also hit was the family home of Hamas’ exiled leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Shati refugee camp on the northern edge of Gaza City, according to the Hamas-run media office in Gaza. It had no immediate details on damage or casualties.
Israel has continued bombing in the south, saying it is striking Hamas targets.
An airstrike early Saturday destroyed a home in the southern town of Khan Younis, with first responders pulling three bodies and six injured people from the rubble. Among those killed was a child, according to an AP cameraman at the scene.
“The sound of explosions never stops,” said Raed Mattar, who was sheltering in a school in Khan Younis after fleeing the north.
At least 1,115 Palestinian dual nationals and wounded have exited Gaza into Egypt, but on Saturday authorities in Gaza didn’t allow foreign passport holders to leave because Israel was preventing the evacuation of Palestinian patients for treatment in Egypt, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority.
The U.N. said about 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes.
Food, water and the fuel needed for generators that power hospitals and other facilities is running out.
Anger over the war and civilian deaths in Gaza sparked large demonstrations in Paris, Washington, London, Pakistan and elsewhere on Saturday. “Against apartheid, free Palestinians,” a banner in Rome read.
Palestinians carry a dead child that was found under the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
Turkey said it was recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations, and Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could no longer speak to Netanyahu in light of the bombardment.
Thousands of Israelis protested outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem, urging him to resign and calling for the return of roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas. Netanyahu has refused to take responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed more than 1,400 people.
“I find it difficult to understand why trucks with humanitarian aid are going to monsters,” said Ella Ben Ami, whose parents were abducted. She called for aid to be halted until the hostages are released.
Thousands of people also joined a demonstration of hostages’ families in Tel Aviv.
Air raid sirens sounded Saturday evening in southern Israel as Hamas launched rockets into Ashkelon. Rocket fire has continued in the area throughout the conflict, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
Fears continued of a new front opening along Israel’s border with Lebanon. The Israeli military said it had struck militant cells in Lebanon trying to fire at Israel, as well as an observation post for Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas. Throughout the war, Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire almost daily. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a tense stalemate.
“We are not interested in a northern front, but we are prepared for any task,” Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, said after touring the border. He said the Air Force is “preserving most of its might for the Lebanon front,” according to a video statement.
The Israeli military said four more soldiers have died during the Gaza ground operation, bringing the confirmed death toll to 28.
___
Bassem Mroue reported from Beirut and Cara Anna reported from New York. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Amman, Jordan; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Julia Frankel and Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem; and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this story.
Ms. Heidi, a 24-year-old American woman, filed a report with the police at Somdet Chao Phraya Police Station, Bangkok, that she had been raped in her room of a condominium in the Sathorn area, Krung Thonburi Road, Khlong San District, Bangkok at 10:00 p.m. on November 4.
The woman revealed that she knew a man, Tim, who assaulted her through the Tinder application. They had agreed to meet at a pub on November 2. When they met, Tim requested to stay in her room, which she allowed. They had agreed not to have sex because she had to work early in the morning.
Later, on November 3, about 2:00 a.m., as she was taking a shower to prepare for bed, this man raped her without her consent. As a result, she decided to report the incident.
Officials reviewed CCTV footage from the American woman’s condominium and obviously noticed the suspect’s face. As a result, they will track him down and arrest him for an additional inquiry.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, Pool)
A fake video purported to show Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida making sexual remarks during an apparent live news program has been widely circulated on social media.
In the video, possibly fabricated by generative artificial intelligence, the prime minister appears to be speaking to viewers on Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television Network Corp. The company’s logo appears in the corner of the screen along with a ticker saying, “Breaking News.”
“It is totally unforgivable that our program logo has been abused in a fake video,” the broadcaster said, adding, it will take action over the case.
Three motorbike accidents on Pattaya Sai 3 Road, Nong Prue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province, injured Thais and a foreigner. Police say a Russian guy driving drunk caused it.
Officers apprehended a Russian guy after he refused to have his alcohol level assessed and became aggressive.
The incident occurred on November 4 around 2:00 a.m. Police called in rescue workers from the Sawang Boriboon Dhammasathan Foundation in Pattaya to provide first aid to those injured on a damaged Honda Wave motorbike. The driver, Mr. Santichai Limtrakul, 32, suffered a laceration on his left leg. Another foreign man was a pillion rider with a major head wound.
Also nearby was a Honda MSX motorcycle that had overturned and was damaged next to Ms. Sabaporn Kongcharoen, 26 years old, who was the driver. There were wounds and abrasions all over the body. All were sent to a nearby hospital.
A Russian man on a Honda PCX motorcycle collided with the two motorcycles. He was drunk and attempted to flee the police, so he was arrested at the Pattaya police station.
Santichai, the driver of a Honda Wave motorcycle, recalled an incident in which he was riding on the back of a motorcycle with a foreign man. When he came to a halt at the intersection to cross the street, he was joined by a female rider’s motorbike. Suddenly, the opposing motorbike appeared from nowhere at tremendous speed and collided with his motorbike and another close bike.
This handout photo provided by Nepal Prime Minister's Office shows an earthquake-affected area in northwestern Nepal, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (Nepal Prime Minister's Office via AP)
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepalese authorities said their focus was on finding survivors after a strong earthquake shook districts in northwestern Nepal just before midnight Friday, killing at least 128 people and injuring dozens more.
The death toll was expected to rise as communications were still cut off in many places, officials said Saturday.
“The priority is to find the survivors and take them to hospital,” said regional police chief, Bhim Dhakal, “while we recover bodies of the deceased.”
Troops were clearing roads and mountain trails blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake. Helicopters flew in medical workers and medicines to the hospitals there.
Security forces on the ground were digging out the injured and dead from the rubble, Nepal police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat said.
A woman airlifted from an earthquake-affected area is carried on a stretcher in Nepalgunj, Nepal, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Krishna Adhikari)
At the regional hospital in the city of Nepalgunj, more than 100 beds were made available and teams of doctors stood by to help the injured.
“I was fast asleep when all of a sudden it started shaking violently. I tried to run but the whole house collapsed. I tried escaping but half my body got buried in the debris,” said Bimal Kumar Karki, one of the first two people to be brought to the regional hospital.
“I screamed, but every one of my neighbors were in the same situation and screaming for help. It took nearly a half-hour to an hour before rescuers found me,” he said.
The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 11 miles. Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center said its epicenter was at Jajarkot, which is about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
People airlifted from an earthquake-affected area arrive in Nepalgunj, Nepal, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Krishna Adhikari)
As day broke Saturday, rescue helicopters flew into the region to help out and security forces on the ground were digging out the injured and dead from the rubble, Nepal police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat said.
Troops were clearing roads and mountain trails that were blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake. Helicopters flew in medical workers and medicines to the hospitals there.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal also flew in on a helicopter with a team of doctors. Dahal led an armed communist revolt in 1996-2006 that began from the districts that were hit by the quake.
In Jajarkot district, where the quake’s epicenter was, 92 people were confirmed dead and 55 others injured, Kadayat said. The quake killed at least 36 people in neighboring Rukum district, where numerous houses collapsed, and at least 85 injured people were taken to the local hospital, he said.
Security officials worked with villagers all through the night in the darkness to pull the dead and injured from fallen houses.
Security officers stand guard at Bheri hospital, where people airlifted from earthquake-affected areas are being brought for treatment, in Nepalgunj, Nepal, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
The quake, which hit when many people were already were asleep in their homes, was felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.
Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed some 9,000 people and damaged about 1 million structures.
Neighboring India offered to help in the rescue efforts.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared on social media that he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and damage due to the earthquake in Nepal.
“India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance,” he said.
This screen grab from video shows villagers stand in front of their damaged houses from last night earthquake in Jagarkot, Nepal, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (Sabin Dhamala via AP)
