Swedish tourists die in car crash

KARON NOI: Two Swedish tourists died instantly and a third suffered serious head injuries late on Monday night when the jeep they were traveling in ran off the road and hit a tree near the entrance to Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort. Pol Maj Boonlert Onklang, an inspector at Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that the accident happened 200 meters from the entrance to Le Meridien at 11:30 pm when the Swedes, driving toward Patong, lost control after hitting a tuk-tuk they were trying to overtake. He named the two dead men as Jan Nicklas Soderstjerna, 25, and Kent Mikael Endreaselenmo, 24. The injured man was named as Martin Joesson, 23, who had arrived in Phuket just the day before. He was taken to Patong Hospital for emergency treatment for head injuries, which were described by a nurse at the hospital as “serious but not life threatening”. He was later transferred to Phuket International Hospital. He is conscious but unable to speak. “The three tourists were traveling toward Patong in a rented jeep when Mr Endreaselenmo, who was driving, went to overtake a tuk-tuk,” said Maj Boonlert. “However, another car was coming from the opposite direction. Mr Endreaselenmo swerved to avoid a head-on collision. He hit the tuk-tuk. “Both the jeep and the tuk-tuk went off the road. The tuk-tuk ended up in a canal but the jeep hit a big tree before also ending up in the canal. Mr Endreaselenmo and Mr Soderstjerna died instantly,” he said. The tuk-tuk driver, Ratchapol Kaewkeau, 25, and his passenger, Thairong Numuang, escaped serious injury. Maj Boonlert said that Mr Soderstjerna’s girlfriend, who came forward later, told police that all three men had been drinking at a bar in Karon before heading for Patong. The bodies of the dead men were sent to Thalang Hospital to await instructions from the Swedish Embassy.