Father mourns two children killed in Sunday blast

Father mourns two children killed in Sunday blast

Tanakorn Yos-ubol, the father who lost two children in Sunday’s grenade attack, only hopes his family’s loss will be the last tragedy of the political violence.

Tanakorn Yos-ubol weeps at the sight of his six-yearold daughter, Pajarakorn, or Nong Cake, who was pronounced dead yesterday morning following Sunday’s grenade attack near the Ratchaprasong protest site. The family also lost their four-yearold son Koravit, or Nong Ken, during the same attack. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)

‘‘I wish I could say ‘you are forgiven’ to the people who committed this violence. But I don’t know who they are,’’ said Mr Tanakorn.

The family lost six-year-old Pajarakorn Yos-ubol, or Nong Cake, on Monday morning.

Her younger brother Koravit, or Nong Ken, died shortly after the grenade went off near the Ratchaprasong rally site late on Sunday afternoon.

He said the family was hoping for a miracle that never came after they lost Nong Ken.

“Do you know how much pain she went through. She bled all night and the doctors kept on trying until she was gone,’’ he said, taking a deep breath and shaking his head in disbelief.

“They were just kids. I couldn’t even bear the thought of them being injured. Now they are dead. People tell us to face the facts, but it is too much,’’ he said.

Mr Tanakorn said the family now only wanted to hold funeral rites for the children.

He hopes the police will do their job and bring the assailants to justice as soon as possible.

The Yos-ubol family on Monday retrieved the bodies from Ramathibodi Hospital for funeral rites at Wat Phromwongsaram in the Din Daeng area.

The two children were not attending the protest. They had just finished visiting CentralWorld shopping mall when the grenade hit.

According to Nareerat Cha-abram, 33, an aunt who took Nong Cake, Nong Ken and her nine-year-old son, Yothin, to the shopping mall, the group finished a meal at KFC and were about to go home.

She said the kids were already on board a tuk-tuk in front of Big C superstore and she was about to get in when she heard a loud explosion.

Yothin was also critically wounded in the attack. He remains unconscious and in an intensive care unit.

Ms Nareerat, a sister of Tanakorn’s wife, Noppawan, said the children of the two families were very close and often hung around together at weekends or holidays.

Dr Surasak Leela-udomlipi, director of the Ramathibodi Hospital, condemned the attack and said the hospital staff were saddened by the deaths.

According to Dr Surasak, both children were born at Ramathibodi Hospital.

Koravit died on Sunday evening from severe brain injuries and internal bleeding.

Pajarakorn died yesterday morning from brain injuries and a ruptured liver.

Yothin remains in a critical condition with swelling of his brain but there are goods signs he has a chance of recovering.

Yuwaret Sitthicharnbunch, head of medicine of Ramathibodi Hospital, yesterday strongly urged rally-goers not to take children to protests or anywhere nearby given the escalating violence.

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