47 injured as “Phuket express’ train slams into truck

PHUKET: An express train from Bangkok to Surat Thani, commonly used by travellers heading for Phuket, plowed into a truck at a crossing in Ratchaburi this afternoon, injuring 47 passengers on board.

“At about 10:30am, there was a big accident between an express train from Bangkok to Surat Thani and a truck at Moo 3 Pak Tho, Ratchaburi,” Lt Col Somboon Murapan, duty officer at Pak Tho Police Station, told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon.

“The train had more than 100 passengers bound for Surat Thani on board. Luckily, none of the passengers were seriously injured,” he added.

However, the driver of the truck, reportedly fully loaded with rubber sheets bound for processing, was not so lucky.

“The truck driver and the train driver were the only people reported so far to have suffered serious injuries.

“The train driver suffered a broken arm, and I have yet to be informed of the injuries sustained by the truck driver,” Lt Col Somboon said.

He explained that the rail crossing where the truck was hit by the train did not have any gates to prevent traffic from crossing the rails while a train was approaching.

“The crossing has no boom gates. Only people living in the neighborhood know there is a railway there. The area is very dangerous even though there is a sign indicating it is a railway crossing,” he said.

“However, I have yet to complete my investigation of the accident. At this stage I do not have the full details about what happened,” Lt Col Somboon added.

— Chutharat Plerin