Pattaya officials insist a pedestrian overpass near School No. 5 is safe, despite a report that a 10-year-old boy suffered a serious electric shock when he touched a steel handrail.
Pokawin Moonkaew lost some skin on a finger after a friend had to help pull his hand off the electrified rail July 5. His mother, Sunisa, posted a warning on a Line messaging app group that caught public officials’ attention.
Provincial Electricity Authority and city inspectors visited the overpass near the Sukhumvit-Central Road bypass tunnel July 6 and found no live current running through any part of the overpass.
PEA Pattaya manager Niruth Charoenchob admitted, however, that there were many clusters of unruly power and utility lines hanging near the bridge. If one of the electricity lines touched the bridge it would send current through it, despite the bridge and power poles being grounded, he said.
Niruth immediately dispatched technicians to tidy up the chaotic jumbles of wires to prevent any from hitting the bridge.
Pattaya spokesman Pinit Maneerat insisted the bridge was safe to use and noted that many other students crossed the overpass at the same time as Pokawin without incident.
