BANGKOK – Several Prathom 4 students were rushed to the hospital today after suffering seizures induced by the flashing banners, pictures and graphics on the The Nation’s website.
Three 9-year-old girls, and two 9-year-old boys began convulsing shortly after being instructed to visit the site during their English-language class. According to their teacher, the incident occurred about 5 minutes after the class had been split into groups and assigned different English-language websites to visit.
Ajarn Suchitra Yusonthanaratt says the students first said the site was confusing and one complained of nausea and a headache. “Then later, when I looked over, all of the students were shaking violently, their heads bobbing wildly, clenching their fists.” After shutting off the screen, the fits subsided. One student, however, swallowed his tongue.
Contacted for comment, Nation editor Tulsathit Taptim said that the company would examine the site to see which of the hundreds of miscellaneous elements may have triggered the seizures. He warned, however, it would take several weeks to look into the cause because “god, it’s hideous.”
