One dead as Phuket water truck overshoots curve

PHUKET: A water tanker overshot a dangerous curve in Phuket this morning, leaving the passenger dead and the driver badly injured.

The accident happened at about 9:30am on Thepkrasattri Road northbound, along a stretch of road known as the “Bang Duk Curve”.

The six-wheeled vehicle, owned and operated by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), was on a routine delivery of water at the time.

Thalang Police led by duty officer Prakob Boonkwan raced to the scene, where they found 45-year-old OrBorJor worker Prayoon Srikrajang dead of massive head trauma.

When they arrived, driver Somchai Kitprasert, 30, was standing nearby, dazed and covered with blood.

One team of Kusoldharm Foundation workers rushed him to Thalang Hospital for emergency treatment, while another prepared Mr Prayoon’s body for transport to the morgue at the same facility.

An initial investigation at the scene failed to reveal what caused the truck to breach the guard rail and take out a wide swath of roadside thicket before coming to rest on its side, Lt Col Prakob said.

OrBorJor Public Works Division acting chief Wasana Rongphol, who was at the scene, told the Phuket Gazette the water truck was delivering 6,000 liters of water to Mai Khao government offices at the time of the accident.

The OrBorJor has conducted this service regularly over last two months, he said.

Narong Singkala, an OrBorJor council member from Mai Khao, blamed poor road engineering for the accident.

“Accidents take place almost daily on three dangerous curves along Thepkrasattri road in Mai Khao: at Bang Duk, at Kho En and at Ban Yid.

“This is because of poor engineering. This issue has been raised many times in OrBorJor council meetings and with the Phuket Provincial Highways Office, which is responsible for this road.

“As nothing has been done so far, I urge drivers to slow down in these areas. This is for their own safety,” he said.

The notorious Kho En curve underwent a major re-engineering in 2008, following a blockade two years earlier by angry villagers protesting dangerous conditions there.

— Pimwara Choksakulpan