Nine Students Injured in University Hazing Fireworks Incident
Nine freshmen were hospitalized after a hazing ritual at a technical university camp in Pak Chong district went awry, with fireworks exploding near eyes, extreme scotch jumps causing hyperventilation, and venomous animal bites reported. The incident occurred on October 2, 2026, after locals complained about deafening noise from the camp. Authorities intervened, finding over 200 first‑year students involved and confirming the injuries.
The seniors from the well-known technical university carried out a brutal hazing ritual: they set off loud fireworks that exploded near a student’s eye, forced freshmen to do repeated scotch jumps leading to hyperventilation, and some were bitten by unidentified venomous animals. Nine students were taken to Pak Chong Nana Hospital—seven men and two women. The first victim had fireworks shrapnel strike the eye, suffering wounds around the eye and ocular trauma; others reported leg pain, chest pain, bilateral leg pain, and injuries from an unknown animal bite. Three additional students experienced chest pain, leg pain, and hyperventilation syndrome after the scotch jumps, a condition where rapid, deep breathing lowers blood carbon‑dioxide levels following intense exertion. The students gave few details about the camp activities, saying they were blindfolded, forced to do push‑ups and scotch jumps while hearing fireworks, until they fainted from ear ringing and loss of consciousness before reaching hospital; most left the hospital quickly after treatment. Sirivat said the scout camp had never before used such loud fireworks, but over the past two nights the noise from training and fireworks had persisted, prompting the inspection with village officials and police, although the organizers blocked the gate with a broken‑down car and radioed ahead that officials were arriving.
