Action by US rescuers for two Thai students expected in 1-2 days

BANGKOK, August 11 (TNA) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that US officials will launch their operations to recover a car crashing into a deep cliff in the Kings Canyon National Park in California within 1-2 days. Thai Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Busadee Santipitak, who is also Director-General of the ministry's Department of Information, told journalists of the update on August 10, noting that her ministry in Bangkok and the Thai Consulate General in Los Angeles, California, have closely followed up the updated situation on the case over the past two weeks. The spokeswoman stated that she has been reported that US officials in California have fully cooperated to proceed with the case. The spokeswoman explained that the delay in the operations, after the case took place in late last month, has been caused by many factors, including unfavorable weather and terrain conditions, as well as strong currents of the Kings River, in which the car with the two Thai students plunged. According to the spokeswoman, actions having been taken by the Thai Consulate General in California and other parties concerned since the case took place have been in accordance with the international norms, including contacts, assistance and facilitations provided to their families and even a religious rite. The spokeswoman urged Thai people travelling in foreign countries to be well-prepared for their trips and to learn on necessary information in a specific area for the sake of their safety, namely its geographical and weather conditions. In response to a reported plan of five organs of the Thai community in the United States to gather for a pressing demand for further quick actions by the US officials in California, the spokeswoman acknowledged that the Thai community has the right to show the unified collaboration, in separation from official moves, suggesting, however, social media networking to learn on and follow reliable updates and take only sympathetic actions that would not cause negative impacts on the families of the two affected Thai students. The two Thai students, 24-year-old Thiwadee Sangsuriyarit and 28-year-old Bhakapon Chairatanatongporn of South Florida University, went missing on July 26 while driving to visit the Kings Canyon National Park in California. Their rented car was later found upside-down on a large rock amid strong currents in the Kings River at the bottom of an about 150-meter-cliff and has not yet been removed from the scene. The bodies of the two Thai students are believed to have remained in the crashed car. (TNA)