BANGKOK, 17 June 2011 – The Ministry of Culture has warned teenagers to exercise caution when they perform planking for fear of dangers and accidents.
Cultural Surveillance Centre Director Ladda Tangsupachai admitted that planking is getting popular very fast in Thailand; however, she expressed concerns that plankers might be unaware of the danger while they lie motionless on their stomach in vatious locations.
Ms Ladda hence cautioned that teenagers should not perform planking in unsafe places such as escalators, traffic zones and high places.
The director noted that at present a number of celebrities are interested in planking. She then warned their fan clubs not to be engaged too much in the craze and to exercise caution when planking since she did not want any tragedy to take place similar to the one in Australia.
Planking, also known as face downs, was originated in Australia in 1997 and has become popular since then. Plankers usually lie face down, similar to dead people, in unusual location and have their photos taken and uploaded in the internet, usually in social network such as facebook.
The most notorious case was reported in Australia where a 20-year-old student died as he fell from his room on the seventh floor while planking on the balcony.
