Myanmar airstrike hits girls’ dormitory in Karen State, killing at least three

A Myanmar military airstrike on a girls’ dormitory in Karen State killed at least three people and injured several others, with one of the wounded dying after being evacuated across the Salween River into Thailand for emergency medical treatment.

The attack occurred at approximately 16.00 on Tuesday (3 November) near De Pu No village in Myanmar’s Karen State, according to Pongpipat Meebenjamas, president of the Mae Sam Laep Subdistrict Administrative Organisation in Mae Hong Son’s Sop Moei district.

Pongpipat said the airstrike initially left two people dead and nine injured at the scene.

On Wednesday, Thai authorities were asked to provide emergency medical assistance for two critically injured people who had been transported by boat across the Salween River to the Thai side of the border on humanitarian grounds.

Medical personnel from Mae Sam Laep Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital and an emergency response team from the local administrative organisation were mobilised to assist the wounded.

However, one of the two critically injured patients died while awaiting transfer to Sop Moei Hospital. The other was successfully transported to the hospital for further treatment.

The latest death brought the reported death toll from the attack to at least three.

Pongpipat said Thai authorities had issued warnings to residents of Mae Sam Laep, Tha Ta Fang and other border villages along the Salween River since 2 November about the risk of Myanmar military air operations in neighbouring Karen State.

The incident has heightened concerns over the safety of communities along the Thai-Myanmar border as fighting continues across the river.