A 50-year-old woman was killed and dozens were injured Monday when a crowd in southern Thailand stampeded during a sale of a popular amulet supposed to bring good fortune. More than 10,000 people had camped overnight by a school compound in Nakhon Si Thammarat province waiting to buy the amulets. The victim fell and was trampled on when the crowd rushed the school gates when sales of a new batch of the amulets was set to begin Monday morning. The Jatukam Ramathep amulets for sale Monday are named for the prince of a kingdom that existed in southern Thailand in ancient times. The phenomenon of the Jatukam amulet started spreading nationally when its original creator, the highly respected policeman Khunphantarak Rajadej, died at age 104 last year. Khunphantarak was believed to possess knowledge of the occult, and more than 200,000 people attended his funeral two months ago.
AP
The Nation