Victoria filmmaker and journalist Chandler Vandergrift is now out of a Bangkok hospital, three weeks after being seriously injured from a grenade blast during violent political protests in Thailand. Nicole Sorochan, who is co-producing a documentary about the unrest in southern Thailand with Vandergrift, said he was released Wednesday from Bangkok Christian Hospital — where he had been recovering after undergoing at least two surgeries to remove the shrapnel — and is now resting in a nearby hotel with his mother.
The freelance filmmaker has been in Thailand for several years working on a documentary about the Muslim-led insurgency. He was in Bangkok gathering footage for the film, which is close to completion, and also reporting on the unrest for the Toronto Star when he was wounded by the grenade.
Vandergrift was one of two Canadians injured in Bangkok during the unrest in May. Journalist Nelson Rand, also a former Calgarian, was shot three times while reporting on the protests just days before Vandergrift was hit. He is also recovering.