Thai police frustrated with Bangkok airport’s delay with CCTV footage of passenger’s amputated leg

The delay is weighing on the government’s hopes for a swift conclusion of the investigation to safeguard the tourism sector’s image

A woman’s leg became trapped on a travelator at Don Mueang airport last week and doctors at the scene amputated her lower left leg, including the knee

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Supannie Kittirattana’s leg became trapped on a travelator in the airport’s Terminal 2 before her flight to Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand. Doctors at the scene had to amputate her lower left leg, including the knee. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:15pm, 5 Jul 2023

Thai police have expressed frustration with Bangkok’s airport for its delay in handing over CCTV footage capturing the moment a woman lost her leg after falling on a moving walkway, as the government sought a swift conclusion of the investigation to safeguard the tourism sector’s image.

Police colonel Adirek Thongkaemkaew said officers had yet to receive surveillance video, despite writing to the airport management to ascertain the exact circumstances that led to the accident last Thursday.

Supannie Kittirattana’s leg became trapped on a travelator in the airport’s Terminal 2 before her flight to Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand. Doctors at the scene had to amputate her lower left leg, including the knee.

Don Mueang International Airport director Karun Thanakuljeerapat said the organisation would bear the medical costs of the 57-year-old, who is receiving treatment at a Bangkok hospital, and offer her compensation in due course.

Following the incident, Thailand’s airport authority immediately ordered a safety check on all moving walkways at its hubs and formed a panel to look into the episode.

Adirek said Don Mueang Airport had assisted police quickly when handling past cases, including in 2019, when a passenger’s shoe was damaged after it was caught in Terminal 1’s moving walkway.

He added police were seeking more information from witnesses such as if the device had been functioning normally at the time of the freak accident as they waited for CCTV footage, the Thai Examiner news website reported.

Thai police frustrated with Bangkok airport’s delay with CCTV footage of passenger’s amputated leg

The delay is weighing on the government’s hopes for a swift conclusion of the investigation to safeguard the tourism sector’s image A woman’s leg became trapped on a travelator at Don Mueang airport last week and doctors at the scene amputated her lower left leg, including the knee

The delay is weighing on the government’s hopes for a swift conclusion of the investigation to safeguard the tourism sector’s image

A woman’s leg became trapped on a travelator at Don Mueang airport last week and doctors at the scene amputated her lower left leg, including the knee