Thai posts share false 'umbrella electrocution risk' claim alongside advice for Skytrain passengers

"If you're at a Skytrain station when it rains, do not unfurl an umbrella," reads part of a Thai-language Facebook post shared on October 8, 2023.

"There is 10,000 watts of electricity in the roof of each station, and anyone unfurling an umbrella could get pulled up to the roof or electrocuted."

The BTS Skytrain is an electric mass transit railway system in Thailand's capital, Bangkok (archived link).

The post also shares a graphic showing a list of "suggestions made by BTS during the rainy season".

These include putting away wet umbrellas or raincoats, being careful of slippery floors, and refraining from opening umbrellas on platforms.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on October 17, 2023

The claim circulated as central Thailand was affected by prolonged heavy monsoon rains and flooding in October 2023. Riverside areas of Bangkok were also bracing as officials warned that incoming rains could cause flooding in the sprawling capital.

The kingdom's rainy season typically brings months of daily deluges but scientists say man-made climate change can make rainfall more intense.

The same claim was also shared in other Facebook posts here, here, here and here, as well as on TikTok here.

But the operator of BTS Skytrain has dismissed the claim as "fake news", and an electrical engineering expert told AFP that using an umbrella on the train stations' platforms is safe.

Advice for windy days

A keyword search of the BTS Skytrain operator's official Facebook page found the graphic used in the false posts was originally shared here on May 23, 2019 (archived link).

The post does advise people against opening umbrellas on the train platforms, but makes no mention of a risk of electrocution.

On October 8, 2023, the Skytrain operator issued a statement on their Facebook page here to refute the claim being spread in the false posts (archived link).

The Thai-language statement reads: "There are not 10,000 watts of electricity in the BTS Skytrain stations' roofs as claimed. There is only 750 volts of electricity supplied to the trains and it runs only on the train tracks."

The Department of Rail Transport also says the BTS Skytrain's third rail provides trains with 750 volts of direct current (archived link).

The transit system operator added that it had only suggested passengers avoid opening umbrellas on train platforms because "strong winds during rainy days may cause umbrellas to be blown away or onto train tracks".

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Screenshot of the Skytrain operator's statement on Facebook

The National News Bureau of Thailand and Anti-Fake News Center Thailand also issued debunks on their websites on October 9 (archived links here and here).

Electrical engineering expert Theppanom Sopaperm, from the Mahanakorn University of Technology, told AFP it was not possible for a person to be electrocuted by the roof of a BTS Skytrain station (archived link).

"Since the power is provided through the running rails, it is impossible that unfurling an umbrella on a platform attracts an electric shock," he said on October 17.

"BTS commuters are safe and unfurling their umbrellas will do no harm." Theppanom added.