A 17-year-old student tragically collapsed and died during physical education class at Sara Luang Pittayakhom High School in Phichit Province. Emergency services were called, but they couldn’t revive the student despite swift action.
The incident occurred when Mr. Thanakorn Thongyim, 17, and his classmates participated in a physical education class on the school’s football field during the first period from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. The teacher wanted to test the student’s fitness abilities by having them run 800 meters for the girls and 1,000 meters for the boys within the allotted time.
The teacher asked the students if they felt unwell or had underlying illnesses. None of the students reported any underlying illnesses or conditions. However, Mr. Thanakorn had a history of heart disease and did not tell the teacher or the school about his condition.
The teacher said that Mr. Thanakorn started to run the 1000 meters in a group of male students, and after running for only about 200 meters, he suddenly collapsed on the track. The teacher and students raced to help Mr. Thanakorn and dialed 1669 to get help from the emergency center at Phichit Hospital.
The ambulance from Phichit Hospital Rescue Center arrived in minutes, and paramedics performed CPR before rushing him to Phichit Hospital, which is about 2 km away from the school.
Tragically, Mr. Thanakorn was declared dead upon his arrival at Phichit Hospital Rescue Center. His parents rushed to the hospital only to be told their son had died.
Dr. Nikun, Principal of Sara Luang Pittayakhom School, told reporters that the school would set up an investigation committee and report the incident to the parent organization. He said the school would compensate Mr. Thanakorn’s parents with 40,000 baht from its life insurance policy for every student.
Dr. Nikun expressed his condolences to the parents and said the school would cover the costs of sending the boy’s body for a postmortem examination at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the school would also pay for the funeral ceremony according to tradition.
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Geoff Thomas is an award winning journalist known for his sharp insights and no-nonsense reporting style. Over the years he has worked for Reuters and the Canadian Press covering everything from political scandals to human interest stories. He brings a clear and direct approach to his work.
