PHETCHABUN: The father and mother of the Thai student who lost her life in a horrifying crowd crush during Halloween celebrations in Seoul are desperate to bring her body home, their daughter’s final journey.
Sakhon and Nha Makaew said on Monday they would borrow 400,000 baht from relatives to pay the expenses of repatriating the body of their only daughter, Natthicha, 27, from South Korea to her home in Lom Sak district of this northern province.
The parents said they had been informed by the Thai embassy in South Korea that the process would take about four days.
Mr Sakhon, 67, and Ms Nha, 64, have been struggling to cope with the devastating loss.
Natthicha, an only child, taught the Korean language to Thai students after graduating from Mahasarakham University.
After the Covid-19 outbreak shut down her tutorial classes, she enrolled in a six-month advanced Korean course at Sogang University in Seoul. The Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty of Mahasarakham University on Monday posted a condolence message.
Natthicha was among 26 foreigners who died in the stampede as people packed the Korean capital’s Itaewon district to celebrate Halloween.
Provincial officials visiting her home on Monday said the province is offering help to the family.
South Korea is in a five-day period of national mourning to pay respects to the 154 people who perished in the tragic event.