Thai female nurse defies custom to treat Buddhist monks injured in deadly truck crash

A nurse in Thailand has earned praise for stepping in to help monks injured in a car accident despite a Buddhist taboo that women cannot touch monks.

Wiwat Laonoi came across the accident while driving to run errands, reported Thairath Online.

As no other responders had arrived yet, she called for an ambulance, then identified herself as a nurse and moved to help.

"People told me, 'Wait, that’s a monk!', but I said it doesn’t matter, right now, this is a patient," she recounted to AFP, as quoted by The Straits Times.

The accident happened on Jul. 2, when a pickup truck crashed into 35 monks during a religious procession in Thailand's Mukdahan province.

As of Jul. 3, 10 monks have died from the accident, and about 10 were still hospitalised, two of them in critical condition.

'Never seen anything like it'

Laonoi, who has been a nurse for nearly four decades, described the accident as "massive".

She had "never seen anything like it", she told AFP.

She went forward to assess the monks' injuries and performed CPR on those without a pulse.

"Everyone struggled to decide whom to help first because all were severely injured," she said, as quoted by Thairath Online.

"I chose to help quickly, turning one monk on his side after reviving him, then moved on to another."

Hospital and rescue teams began arriving at the scene within five minutes after.

The nurse expressed pride in her ability and knowledge to assist others at the time.

"I'm glad I was able to help because this was the biggest accident I have ever encountered in my career."

In a Facebook post on Jul. 3, the Nurses' Association of Thailand commended Laonoi's selflessness, composure, and spirit of a professional nurse.