Hopes remain

As the army prepares to send mule teams to aid in the difficult search for the nine people on board the missing army Black Hawk helicopter, the victims' families have not given up hope. Photo: Post Today

Khiam Chiamsungnoen, the mother of Maj Praphan Chiamsungnoen, the first pilot of the military Black Hawk helicopter believed to have crashed near the Thai-Burmese border on Tuesday, holds a photo of her son at her house in Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday. PRASIT TANGPRASERT

Click button to listen to Blackhawk and rightclick to download

Black Hawk families keep hopes alive

Piyarach Chongcharoen

Days have passed, but Lt Col Prayuth Khongtannukul still hopes to see his son Sornwichai return home alive.

He has tried calling his son's mobile phone, and only gets his voice mail, which he takes as a sign that his son is safe and sound.

Mr Sornwichai, a TV5 cameraman, was among nine people on board an army Black Hawk helicopter that went missing inside Burma on Tuesday.

Lt Col Prayuth Khongtannukul believes that if his son had really crashed, his phone probably would have been destroyed. "If he was dead, I would be unable to reach him [in the voice mail system]," he said.

The army believes the chopper crashed during an operation to retrieve the bodies of five victims of another helicopter crash on Saturday near the Thai-Burmese border.

It is believed that the Black Hawk went down inside Burma about 2km from the Ton Nam Petch forestry base in Thailand.

Surakit Phinyachawanit, a TV5 news editor who is Mr Sornwichai's immediate supervisor, is also keeping his fingers crossed that Mr Sornwichai is alive and will return soon.

"When are you coming back to help me install that satellite dish, huh?" Mr Surakit wrote to Mr Sornwichai on his Facebook page.

Before he left to file a report on the body retrieval operation on Tuesday, Mr Sornwichai promised his boss to help install the dish.

Meanwhile, Khiam Chiamsungnoen, mother of Maj Praphan Chiamsungnoen, the first pilot of the Black Hawk, said she cried and fainted upon learning about the crash on Tuesday.

She monitors news updates constantly on the search for the missing helicopter, and prays for her son's safety.

The pilot is the only son among her four children.

"He loves and is very proud of his job," she said from her Nakhon Ratchasima home.

As families of the nine people on board the Black Hawk hold out a hope that their loved ones are safe, the families of the five men who died in the first helicopter crash are preparing to bid their beloved farewell, as their remains arrived home yesterday.

Prapha-on Chongsuksiri, 33, who only two months ago married Maj Kitiphum Ekkaphan, a military officer attached to the Thap Phrapya Suea Camp who perished in the crash, said it was hard for her to accept that her husband was dead.

They had dated for about 10 years before getting married.

border – the official line separating two areas, regions or countries  เขตแดน อาณาเขต
safe and sound – safe and in a good, healthy condition ปลอดภัย, สุขภาพดี
on board – on a ship, aircraft or vehicle บนหรือใน (เรือ, รถ, เครื่องบินหรือพาหนะอื่น)
missing – not in the usual place or not able to be found because it has been removed or lost ซึ่งหายไป
operation – a planned activity involving a lot of people, especially soldiers or police officers การปฏิบัติการ
retrieve – to recover; to get something back, especially something that is not easy to find ได้กลับคืนมา
victims – people who are killed injured or harmed in some way from an accident, natural disaster, crime, etc. เหยื่อผู้เคราะห์ร้าย
base – a place where an army, a navy, etc. operates from ฐานทัพ, ฐานที่มั่น
immediate – nearest in relationship or rank โดยตรง,ใกล้ชิด, ,ถัดมา
supervisor – someone who is in charge of an activity, a place, or a group of people such as workers or students ผู้ควบคุมดูแล, หัวหน้างาน
keep your fingers crossed – to hope that your plans will be successful or to hope that something good happens (sometimes putting one finger across another as a sign of hoping for good luck)
install – to put a piece of equipment somewhere and make it ready for use ติดตั้ง
satellite – an electronic device that is sent into space and moves around the earth or another planet. It is used for communicating by radio, television, etc. and for providing information ดาวเทียม
file a report – to send in a report, in this case to a news organisation ส่งต้นฉบับไป(ที่สำนักข่าว)
faint – to suddenly become unconscious for a short time, and usually fall to the ground เป็นลม
monitor – to regularly check something or watch someone in order to find out what is happening  ตรวจสอบ ตรวจตรา
update – the most recent information or news about something ข้อมูลใหม่ๆ
constantly – continuously; all the time อย่างต่อเนื่อง
search – looking somewhere or through something carefully in order to find something การค้นหา
proud – feeling pleased and satisfied about something that you own or have done, or are connected with ภูมิใจ
bid farewell – to say goodbye ล่ำลา, กล่าวลา, ลาจาก
beloved – a person who is loved very much by somebody  ผู้เป็นที่รัก
remains – the body of a person who has died ศพ
perish – to die, usually in a sudden way  ตายทันที
date – to have a romantic relationship with somebody นัดพบ