Parents of Thai killed in Turkey quake seek clarity if government would pay for bringing her body home
The family of a Thai woman killed in Turkey’s recent earthquake that has killed over 36,000 people, remained uncertain if the cost of transporting her body home for cremation would be covered by the government.
Chamaiporn Homsantia, the 28-year-old Thai victim, was reportedly sleeping when the devastating 7.8-magnitude quake shook the southern Turkish town of Iskenderun, where she worked as a traditional Thai masseuse.
A native of the northeastern Chaiyaphum province, the woman had reportedly worked there without documentation for over four years. She had travelled to Turkey on a tourist visa and was not registered with Thailand’s Ministry of Labour to work overseas.
Her body was expected to arrive at Don Mueang International Airport at 10pm on Thursday and then be transported to her parents’ house in Chaiyaphum around 5am on Friday for the funeral.
The cremation is scheduled for next Monday (Feb 20) at a local Buddhist temple.
Her parents, Boonchu and Ken, said on Thursday that they had received conflicting answers from Thai authorities regarding the cost of bringing the body.
They said they had learned from some news reports that Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda had said the family would not have to pay anything for flying Chamaiporn’s body from Turkey to Thailand.
However, the Thai Embassy in Turkey later told the parents that the cost of sending the body to Thailand was 250,000 baht.
The distraught parents said they had collected slightly over 160,000 baht in donations from several organisations and groups of people, but that was still far below the required amount.
“If necessary, we are ready to enter into an agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the money to be repaid in instalments,” Boonchu said.
She called for clarity over the matter. “We don’t know yet if the family has to cover this cost of over 250,000 baht. If we get help, we will be grateful,” the mother said.
According to the parents, they have received a 5,000-baht donation from the Chaiyaphum governor, as well as financial aid from other local administrators and reporters.
Earlier, Chaiyaphum’s Social Security Office told the parents that their daughter had quit the social security fund in 2015 and had pending benefits of 15,017 baht. The sum was given to her family for funeral arrangements.
The family said on Thursday that no other aid was offered by the government.
On February 6, a strong earthquake and several aftershocks rumbled through southern Turkey and northern Syria, leaving over 36,000 people dead as of Thursday and affecting millions more in both countries.
