'She was so caring' Thai mourns wife and children killed in border clashes

It was Thursday morning, and Komsan Prachan's two children would normally have been in school. Instead, their village in north-eastern Thailand had been put on high alert.

- Rebecca Ratcliffe

It was Thursday morning, and Komsan Prachan's two children would normally have been in school. Instead, their village in north-eastern Thailand had been put on high alert. Fighting had broken out on the country's disputed border with Cambodia. Local officials cancelled classes and sent messages over loudspeakers telling residents to prepare to evacuate.

Komsan and his wife, Rungrat, went to fetch eight-year-old Pongsapak and 14-year-old Taksatorn from school. They were heading home to collect the children's grandparents when they stopped briefly at a petrol station in Sisaket province. Rungrat went into the shop with the children to get some snacks, while Komsan waited in the car. It was then that a rocket hit.

Rungrat, Taksatorn and Pongsapak were among eight people killed.

"My wife is like the other half of my life," said Komsan. The couple had grown up together, had attended the same school, and fell in love when they both went to work in Bangkok. "She is so caring. She would always ask me and everyone if they were OK, had they had enough sleep, had they eaten?"