BANGKOK (AP) — Sixteen people
were injured, most of them children, at one of Bangkok's upscale
shopping malls Saturday when a tent at an outdoor event came crashing
down on them, officials said.
The accident at Siam Paragon
shopping mall appeared to have been caused by strong winds that caused
the tent to collapse, said Lt. Gen. Sanit Mahathaworn, Bangkok's acting
police chief.
"Strong wind caused the tent to fly up, about one
meter. Then wooden signs attached to the back of the tent flew off and
injured nearby people," he said.
Among
the injured were at least 12 children, aged 6 to 9, who were among
dozens of people at an event called "Pokemon Day Dance Party" to
celebrate Thailand's Children's Day, Sanit and other officials said.
"A
mother and her child suffered broken legs. The mother was trying to
protect her child from getting hurt," Sanit said. The injured were taken
to a nearby hospital.
Siam
Paragon issued a statement saying it "would like to regretfully
apologize for the accident which injured a total of 16 people" on behalf
of the event's organizers, which included other Thai companies. It said
organizers sent all the injured to hospitals and by Saturday evening
only two remained hospitalized.
Sanit
said that police would press criminal negligence charges against the
owners of the company that installed the tent. They could face up to
three years in prison and a 6,000 baht ($165) fine.
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