Thai army, forensic experts collect evidence of artillery strike on Surin hospital
The Royal Thai Army and the Justice Ministry’s Central Institute of Forensic Science inspected Phanom Dong Rak Hospital in Surin, collecting evidence of damage caused by Cambodian artillery fire.
The Royal Thai Army, in coordination with the Central Institute of Forensic Science under the Ministry of Justice, carried out an on-site investigation on Sunday (August 31) at Phanom Dong Rak Chalerm Phrakiat 80th Anniversary Hospital in Surin province.
The team collected evidence from last month’s cross-border clash in which Cambodian artillery shells struck the hospital grounds.
On the morning of July 24, three rounds fired from Cambodian positions landed within the hospital compound, damaging several buildings. Among the worst affected were the Phumiphath Building and the Phra Khru Aphatsatham (Luang Ta Rod) Community Health Centre, which houses the antenatal clinic, a critical service point for local residents. The attack forced the emergency evacuation of patients to a safe area.
A hospital staff member recalled: “I was on duty in the antenatal clinic at the time. Normally, we serve 5–10 expectant mothers a day, along with children receiving vaccinations and elderly patients coming for health checks. On that day, there was just one expectant mother in the clinic when the shells struck.”
He recounted that during the attack, an explosion rocked the nearby Phumiphath Building, sending shrapnel into the antenatal clinic and even striking close to the physician’s chair. “Fortunately, no one was injured at that moment, and we managed to evacuate the pregnant woman safely,” the staff member said.
Other patients and relatives inside the hospital fled in panic to makeshift shelters. Some were so terrified they reportedly said their final goodbyes to family members as they feared for their lives. Once the shelling subsided, medical personnel immediately attended to those wounded.
The incident underscores not only the escalating violence along the Thai–Cambodian border but also the grave risks faced by civilians. Hospitals, places meant to be sanctuaries of safety, have instead become targets of fear and disruption, threatening essential healthcare services that international law requires to be protected from conflict.
Forensic experts from the Justice Ministry have since collected fragments from the blasts at the site. The evidence has been sent to the Central Institute of Forensic Science laboratory to determine the origin and technical details of the shelling.
