US operations begin to retrieve remains of students

[rooster59]

US operations begin to retrieve remains of students

 

Photo : Fresno County Sheriff's Office

Efforts to recover the bodies of two Thai students in their car that plunged into a river in the US more than a month ago, were finally scheduled to begin at 6am local time (8pm Bangkok time) yesterday.

 

The retrieval operation will see rescuers go down from a helicopter to the Kings River where the car is stuck.

 

They will then tie the car to the helicopter, which will then lift it to a safe spot before colฌlecting the remains of Thiwadee Saengsuriyarit, 24, and Bhakapon Chairattanasongporn, 28, postgraduate stuฌdents at the South Florida University.

 

Efforts to retrieve their bodies have been delayed because of the high water level and strong currents in the river as well as the bad weather, which could have threatened the safety of the rescue teams.

 

The operation has been scheduled now as the flow of the river and water level have reached levels that will not make it unsafe for the rescuers.

 

The Thai Consulate Office in Los Angeles said on its Facebook page that it was informed of the decision by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. The delay in retrieving the remains had led to some criticism of US agenฌcies who were viewed as not wanting to recover the bodies because the victims were Asian, not Americans.

 

The Sheriff’s office said it was not sure how long the recovery operation would take. It suggested that consulate officials and relaฌtives of the victims arrive at the site at around 8am9am local time.

 

At the request of the families of the vicฌtims, the Consulate will seek permission from local authorities to bring a monk to the site to conduct a religious ceremony for both stuฌdents.

 

After the remains of Thiwadee and Bhakapon are collected, they would be sent for an autopsy and identity confirmation before being transferred to a cemetery in Los Angeles for Buddhist rites and cremation.

 

The family of Thiwadee intends to bring the ashes back to Thailand while Bhakapon’s family plans to scatter the ashes in California.

 

Source: 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-02

[LannaGuy]

RiP

[LNKDES1]

My condolences to the families of the students. A tragic accident for sure. The safety of the rescue workers had to be the first consideration. Not wanting to recover the bodies because they were Asian couldn't be further from the truth.

[rooster59]

US recovers remains of two Thai students from car

US rescuers has retrieved remains of two Thai postgraduate students at the South Florida University from their car that plunged into a river in the US more than a month ago.

 

The retrieval operation sent rescuers go down from a helicopter to the Kings River where the car is stuck and pulled the car to a river bank.

 

Remains of Thiwadee Saengsuriyarit, 24, and Bhakapon Chairattanasongporn, 28, will be sent for autopsy and identity confirmation. Families of both victims were present at the site. A monk was brought to the scene to perform religious rite for the victims.

 

The family of Thiwadee intends to bring the ashes back to Thailand while Bhakapon’s family plans to scatter the ashes in California.

 

Efforts to retrieve their bodies from the car that got stuck in the river since July 26 have been delayed because of the high water level and strong currents in the river as well as the bad weather, which could have threatened the safety of the rescue teams.

 

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office decided to retrieve the remains on Friday morning local time as the flow of the river and water level have reached levels that will not make it unsafe for the rescuers.

 

The Thai Consulate Office in Los Angeles said on its Facebook page that it was informed of the decision by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

 

The delay in retrieving the remains had led to some criticism of US agencies who were viewed as not wanting to recover the bodies because the victims were Asian, not Americans.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30325566

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-02

[metisdead]

A post in violation of fair use policy has been removed. 

[Bluespunk]

11 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The delay in retrieving the remains had led to some criticism of US agencies who were viewed as not wanting to recover the bodies because the victims were Asian, not Americans.

Only by paranoid conspiracy theorists.  

[habanero]

So I guess Asians cannot be Americans?    Just what is an American?  Do they mean Thai, not American?  Does that also go for Latinos, Irish, Italians etc.? Or do they mean foreigners in general?

[fusion58]

Quote

The delay in retrieving the remains had led to some criticism of US agencies who were viewed as not wanting to recover the bodies because the victims were Asian, not Americans.

Irony gold coming from representatives of a country that treats all "farangs" as second (or third) class citizens.

[Jingthing]

As far as I'm concerned, even though "late" the U.S. side went above and beyond the call of duty taking the risks they did to retrieve the bodies. The delay had nothing to do with racism.