Phuket airport taxi flips, Chinese tourist family escape serious injury

PHUKET: A family of three Chinese tourists, including a 5-year-old boy, escaped serious injury on Saturday when the taxi they were in flipped and hit a power pole on Thepkrasattri Road while they were heading to Phuket International Airport.

Officers from the Thalang Police were called to the scene of the crash, near Muang Thalang School, at about 11am.

The taxi driver, Pariwat Sommutjang, 26, told police that he had picked up the three tourists – Feiyun Zhao, 36, his wife Ms Yang, 34, and their son Yiheng Zhao – from Patong.

“He was taking them to the airport when the front left tyre blew out,” said Lt Suporn Muangkhai of the Thalang Police.

The taxi flipped onto its roof, then slid off the road and into a power pole.

“Luckily no one was seriously injured,” said Lt Suporn.

Mr Pariwat was charged with careless driving, Lt Suporn confirmed.

The “blowout accident” on Saturday follows three French tourists escaping serious injury last Tuesday when the passenger van they were in supposedly blew out a front tyre and tumbled onto the median guard rail en route to Phuket Airport (story here).

That dangerous blowout followed a six-wheeled earth mover overturning on Sri Soonthorn Road, about 500 meters from the Heroines Monument, on January 3 after one of the vehicle’s right rear tyres exploded (story here).

— Thawit Bilabdullar