Autopsy on gold mine employee to determine if his work killed him
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AN ex-Akara Resources employee was found dead yesterday after suffering from a fatal neurological disease that his family suspects was the result of his long-term exposure to cyanide and other hazardous chemicals.
Somkid Thampawet, who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), unloaded cyanide at Akara Resources’ gold mine in Phichit’s Thab Khlo district for years. He died after being treated for severe muscular weakness at Phichit Hospital for weeks.
The Central Institute of Forensic Science will conduct the autopsy on his body in accordance with his wishes to determine if he had chemical and/or heavy metal traces in his body that could have led to him getting the disease.
Somkid’s wife Chamnian Tham-pawet said her husband had worked at the gold mine since its opening, leaving it after 13 years of service.
Somkid started to show ALS symptoms around two years |ago, resulting in him losing his job and not receiving any assistance from the company, she lamented.
“The symptoms of the disease became more serious over time. We were trying to call the company for help but they dodged our pleas every time we asked,” Chamnian stated.
She said that after her husband’s story was widely publicised in the media, the company offered to pay the family Bt7,000 per month, which could not have been enough to meet Somkid’s treatment costs.
She said that five other former gold mine workers have similar symptoms as those suffered by her husband and CIFS will also perform autopsies on their bodies.
CIFS director-general Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan described Somkid’s autopsy as a “complicated process” that would take about a month to conclude.
