Forklift helps take 603lb woman to hospital

A 603lb woman believed to be the heaviest in Thailand left her apartment for the first time in three years yesterday – with the help of Bangkok City Hall and a forklift.

Neighbours of 40-year-old Umnuayporn Tongprapai contacted the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority when they learned she needed medical attention to remove a tumour in her right leg.

Bangkok’s media-savvy governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra summoned camera crews to document the event, which involved engineers, demolition crews, rescue workers, doctors and nurses.