Danish man crashes car into Chiang Mai moat, killing 1

A Danish man crashed a white sedan into Chiang Mai moat in northern Thailand in the early hours of this morning. He survived but his female Thai passenger could not escape the vehicle in time and drowned.

A 30 year old Danish man was driving through Chiang Mai’s Mueang district “at a high speed” when he lost control, crashed into a tree on the footpath and spun off into Chiang Mai moat, which encircles the old city.

Chiang Mai Emergency Centre was informed of the accident at 12.55am and deployed rescue workers from the Ruamjai Chiang Mai Foundation to the scene.

Rescue workers found the Danish man, soaking wet, standing in his boxer shorts, in a state of shock. He said his passenger was unable to escape.

It took around 30 minutes for rescue workers to pull the Thai woman from the wreckage and out of the moat. Rescue workers said it was difficult because the car was overturned under the water.

Rescue workers performed CPR on the Thai woman, who was estimated to be between 30-40 years old. She was rushed to Maharaj Nakhon Hospital where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room.

The Danish man said he had been out to a party before the accident and admitted he was speeding on his drive home which is when he lost control and crashed into Chiang Mai moat.

Polwat Sudta, a rescue worker, said he dived into the water as soon as he arrived at the scene. He said it took 30 minutes to locate the car, smash the windows and cut the seatbelt to retrieve the Thai woman from the vehicle. However, when they pulled her out of the water, her heart had already stopped, said Polwat.

Chiang Mai’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department sent officers in wet suits into the moat to check there were no more fatalities. The department used a forklift to retrieve the car from the water.

Police came to inspect the scene and found that a lamppost and a tree had been hit by the car. The car wreckage was taken to Chiang Mai Provincial Police Station to be used as evidence.

The Danish man will be further questioned by the police to find out the true details of the accident.