31-07-2025
Insurers won't help owner of bombed PTT station
SI SA KET - The owner of a PTT petrol station and 7-Eleven store where a Cambodian rocket strike killed eight people on July 24 faces at least 14 million baht in damages with no compensation in sight from insurers or the government.
Kamolrat Phonsetthalert says she has been unable to eat or sleep since the attack seven days ago, and has needed psychiatric treatment for the trauma of witnessing the destruction.
The rocket strike, which also injured 13 people, has forced the closure of the station at Ban Phue in Kantharalak district for at least two months while repairs are undertaken.
More than 50 employees face uncertain income prospects during the shutdown, said Ms Kamolrat.
The business was insured by two companies, but the first explicitly excludes war damage coverage, whether direct or indirect, even if the government declares the area a war disaster zone, she said. The second insurer only covers structural damage partially.
Government assistance remains unclear. Deputy Energy Minister Fuangwit Anirutthewa visited the site on Thursday to assess damage and promised to propose compensation measures, but no concrete details have emerged.
Ms Kamolrat criticised authorities for failing to provide advance warning of the emergency. The rocket struck in the morning of July 24, but the warning system was only activated at 3-4pm in the afternoon.
She emphasised that the attack was something that could not have been predicted and was not the fault of business operators. She called for government intervention to help many entrepreneurs who suffered similar damage as a result of the border hostilities.
