Sri Lankans in Thailand safe

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Thailand yesterday confirmed that there are no Sri Lankans stranded in Thailand due to the floods.

Sources from the Ministry quoted a letter sent out by the local Embassy in Thailand stating that 88 students studying at the Asian Institute of Technology had been brought back to the island last week when the flood situation worsened around the campus area.The students have been given concessionary rates by SriLankan Airlines, sources said.

The Embassy has asserted that they were unaware of any directly affected Sri Lankans in Thailand. The Ministry sources assured that while no travel warning has been given to those who wish to visit Thailand, travellers have been advised to contact the local Embassy there in case of an emergency.

The foods, known as Thailand’s worst floods in half a century, are said to have killed at least 366 people since mid July, disrupting the lives of approximately 2.5 million people. As the situation continues to aggravate, Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra broke from the previous assurance that Bangkok could be relatively safe from flooding.

He announced: “The power of the water is more than the flood barriers and water gates can withstand. There is a high possibility that water will break into inner and central Bangkok as well as outlying areas.”