Toddler injured by ATM electrical shock remains critical

[PeteC]

Does someone know how this could happen? Perhaps the mom wearing rubber flip-flops and the child barefoot? Seems very strange to me for a unit that people use throughout an entire day. Very sad though. Pete
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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 40923.html

A 2-year-old girl who was seriously injured by a short-circuit in an ATM in Trang's Yan Ta Khao district last week is still in a serious condition.

Toddler injured in ATM electrical shock incident remains in critical condition There is no brain response, although Nong Yok’s blood pressure has improved, said Trang Hospital deputy director Dr Wanthana Saingam.

The brain will not recover from cerebral hypoxia after the electric shock. However, the medical team is doing their best to help the child but the family should be prepared for any unexpected news, she added.

Relative Panudda Bumrung was in tears as she explained how the toddler had swung her arms and touched the ATM machine of Siam Commerical Bank while she was withdrawing cash from the ATM and received an electric shock.

Sukulya Noopinij, the mother, said that she had been informed by the doctor to prepare for the worst. She added that bank staff had visited her daughter everyday since the accident, and the bank insisted on taking full responsibility.

[PeteC]

A bit more detail and explanation here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/4 ... y-bank-atm

[kendo]

Very sad story Pete kids of that age love to help adults pushing the buttons on an ATM. Maybe it had been tampered with by criminals or fixed by an incompatant engineer but reading the story someone managing the site new the machine was dodgy.

If the little girl had stopped breathing aswel it's not looking good for successful recovery bless her bot one can only hope.

Kendo.

[Nereus]

Child victim of ATM electrocution dies

http://www.bangkokpost.com/most-recent/ ... eart-stops

Relatives and doctors agreed on Friday morning to turn off the respirator keeping alive a comatose two-year-old girl who was electrocuted by a bank ATM in Trang province on Aug 7.

Parichat's grandfather Somchoke Khaokhong said that on the night of Aug 7 an adult had also received an electric shock from the same ATM, but had not been seriously injured. The local electricity authority had been informed. His granddaughter was the next victim.

Local electricity officials had not fully examined the ATM and the power system at the petrol station, where the SCB ATM was sited alongside a Bangkok Bank ATM used by Parichat's much older sister to withdraw money at the same time.

Trang police chief Pol Maj Gen Jeerawat Udomsud said the ATM was not connected to a transformer, but was wired directly into the electricity supply of the petrol station.

Refuelling and refilling petrol tanks at the station consumed a lot of power, he said. When such activities stop, the excess current could flow into nearby electrical devices, including the ATMs, and could well pass through anyone touching the metal body of the machine, Pol Maj Gen Jeerawat said.
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Jeez, I had a bad dream about this last night. The above comment from the police just goes to prove that this is still a third world country.

[PeteC]

Yes, either bad reporting or a very ill-informed policeman. Very, very sad about the little girl.

[Lung Per]

As far as safety issues are concerned - Thailand is still decades behind the western world.

It may look like ours, it may shine like ours, but it sure ain`t safe like ours.

Watch out there.

Very sad for the little girl and her family.

Hope Thai authorities will learn from this. Sorry, wishful thinking.

[PeteC]

All liable parties should get on their knees and thank God they're not in the USA or EU. They would all be charged with negligent homicide and/or manslaughter to include the bank, the gas station, the electrician et al, and the law suit against the bank and gas company would be in the millions of dollars.

Before you at US law, this is one instance here that deserves that type of aggression.

What will happen?.....the bank and perhaps the fuel company will pay a few million Baht to the family and send flowers to the Wat. The family will be forced to sign a release indemnifying everyone from further action.....before they get the Baht.

Agreed, nothing can bring back the little girl and money can't heal the family, but negligence here needs to get hammered over and over again if permanent changes in mentality concerning responsibility are ever going to happen.

[Bristolian]

This is such a sad story and I feel so sorry for the little girl's family and friends.

Unfortunately electrocutions from ATMs, in Asia, are not as rare as you would think. There were two in India this month and others reported in Vietnam. Of course negligence, incompetence on the part of the installers, or poor repairs certainly play their part but also the exposed nature of some ATMs in the rainy season also has a part to play, which I guess can also be put down to incompetence in the siting of some machines..So sad in this instance that some child, who is so young, pays the price of incompetence.