Mystery death solved: Gas leak behind Thai teen's death
Truth slowly revealed behind Indian death hotel in locale where Thai children go to study. Gas heater leaves some dead, some unconscious.
Truth slowly revealed behind Indian death hotel in locale where Thai children go to study. Gas heater leaves some dead, some unconscious.
TRAVEL SAFETY & MYSTERY DEATHS
Mystery death solved: Gas leak behind Thai teen's death
24/04/2017
Prangthong Jitcharoenkul
The town of Kurseong's location high in the mountains near Nepal and far away from the sea is highlighted by this map (Source: Wikipedia).
An autopsy on a 15-year-old Thai student who was found dead at a hotel in India's West Bengal early last month confirmed he died from a lack of oxygen to the brain, possibly as a result of a leaking gas shower heater.
However, results of an initial autopsy from a hospital in India have not been revealed.
The town where the tragic death occured is named Kurseong and is in the Eastern Himalayas.
It is not far from Darjeeling, one of the most popular destinations in India among Thai middle-income earners to send their children to receive an English language- based education.
Kurseong is nicknamed "the school town" for all the English language schools located there.
TRAGIC END TO 15-YEAR OLD'S TRIP TO INDIA
Chinbunchorn Koetsirikunwong reached Kurseong town on March 7 to seek admission to a boarding school.
He was found dead in the bathroom of the Cochrane Place Hotel the next morning.
A hospital in India performed an autopsy before the body was returned to Thailand, where another autopsy was performed.
The Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital published papers confirming that Chinbunchorn's death was due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.
LOCAL POLICE INITIALLY CITED FOOD POISONING AS CAUSE OF DEATH
The autopsy showed there were no alcohol or drugs in his system.
In March, a source at the Indian embassy in Bangkok, who asked not to be named, said local police in India cited food poisoning as the cause of the young man's death.
SECOND DEATH FROM APPARENT LEAK IN GAS-POWERED WATER HEATER
The gas heater brand allegedly involved in the deaths at the hotel in India.
The hotel was forced to shut down three weeks later after the body of another dead person was found in the same place.
This time the dead person was an Indian man who was also using the hotel's bathroom.
A newspaper, India's Millennium Post, on March 19 reported the cause of the two deaths could be the hotel's LPG gas-powered water heater.
"All heaters present in the washrooms [bathrooms] of the hotel's 31 rooms are connected to a central LPG heating system," the newspaper quoted Nigel Chowdhury, the operational head of the hotel, as saying (read more about the gas heating system here).
FRIENDS OF DECEASED FOUND UNCONCIOUS IN NEXT ROOM
The young Thai victim's two friends were found unconscious in an adjacent room, but later recovered and returned home to Bangkok on March 13.
They could provide no further information on why they think they lost consciousness.
LAWSUIT BY DEAD BOY'S FATHER IS NEXT STEP
The dead boy's father, Sittichai Koetsirikunwong, said he will file a lawsuit against the owner of Cochrane Place hotel once he gets the autopsy results from the Indian hospital.
"This is about safety standards and the safety of students in India," he said.
The mountainous area near Darjeeling and the Nepal's border where the hill station of Kurseong is located (Source: Google maps)
LOCAL COVERUP IN INDIA FEARED
"I was worried local police would collude with the hotel owner to get her off the hook," he said, adding that he has not heard any more on how the investigation into his son's death is developing.
The hotel owner, Rita Arora, declined to comment on the latest developments.
Meanwhile, an official at the Indian embassy in Bangkok, who asked not to be named, said the embassy has not been updated on the case since last month.
Kurseong's location not far from Mt. Everest is highlighted by this map (Source: Google Earth).
THAI AUTOPSY FINISHED, WAITING INDIAN RESULTS
Mr Sittichai received the autopsy results from Police General Hospital on April 5, but had decided to wait on the Indian hospital's results before making his next move.
"Either way, he was dead," Mr Sittichai said.
Kurseong is quite a scenic town being located high in the mountains.
An old train from the British colonial era provides service to Kurseong (Source: WIkipedia)
An old train from the British colonial era provides service to Kurseong (Source: WIkipedia)
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1237254/e-work-permit-smart-cards-get-roll-out
http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/experts-to-examine-lpg-geyser-system-at-sealed-kurseong-hotel-220607
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/forensic-lens-on-hotel-in-kurseong-after-deaths/articleshow/57801716.cms
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