Six migrant workers from Thailand who were injured in Tuesday's two-vehicle crash near Peräseinäjoki in Southern Ostrobothnia have been released from Seinäjoki Central Hospital. The Thais, who work as seasonal berry pickers, have returned to the camping centre where they live.
The ten workers were travelling to their picking location early on Tuesday morning when a passenger car operated by a suspected intoxicated driver veered across the road in the village of Kihniänkylä and crashed head-on into their minibus.
Police suspect the driver of the car of traffic endangerment, causing bodily harm, and aggravated drunk driving.
The two workers most seriously injured in the accident remained in intensive care on Wednesday, and two others were being held in the general ward until at least Thursday. Another person injured in the crash was scheduled to be discharged on Wednesday.
The migrant workers' care at the hospital involved a good deal of help from a social worker, a Thai interpreter, and a nurse with Thai-language skills who works at the facility.
According to Kaija-Riitta Suonsyrjö, a nurse who works at the emergency department of the Southern Ostrobothnia Hospital District, the inclusion of a Thai-speaking nurse into the care team was paramount. With this nurse's assistance, the treatment of the injured workers has progressed more smoothly than if there was no common language, according the Suonsyrjö.
Jukka Kristo, Managing Director of Polarica, the company which employs the Thai berry pickers, told Yle that the people involved in the accident are shocked by the incident but will continue to work based on their own individual ability to pick berries.
The company's original objective was to keep the Thai workers under contract until September or October.