The Foreign Ministry confirmed this morning that a Thai tourist was among the three people killed in an attack by a gunman at a Christmas market in Strasbourg in eastern France on Tuesday night.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ms Busaba Santipitak identified the Thai victim as Anupong Suebsamarn who was visiting the French town with his wife.
She said that the Thai ambassador in Paris was already informed of the tragedy and had dispatched a consular official to Strasbourg to provide necessary help to the victim’s wife and to arrange for an interpreter.
A witness in France has told the BBC how he tried to help the fatally injured Thai tourist who suffered a head wound.
Peter Fritz said after the gunfire near a Christmas market: “We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by.”
He says the man was in his 30s and his wife appeared to be unharmed but in shock.
Fritz says it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. He said an emergency doctor advised by telephone “that any further efforts would be futile.”
Fritz said of the victim: “He is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him.”
French authorities said the suspected terrorist is on the run after the shooting at the Christmas market. Shots were reportedly exchanged in a street of the southern district of Neudorf after a manhunt involving police and soldiers but there was no confirmation he had been located.
Meanwhile, the Thai Students Association in France expressed condolences to the family of the victim and offered thanks to all concerned which have lent help to the victim.
In its Facebook post, the association warned Thai students in Strasbourg to take special precaution after the shooting incident.
