Van crash kills two Phuket buffalo, tourists safe

PHUKET: Three people were injured early this morning when a Phuket passenger van slammed into two buffalo, killing both.

Thalang Police were notified of the accident at 1:30am. At the scene they found a Toyota passenger van with its front smashed in and its three passengers slightly injured.

The driver, identified as 43-year-old Suchart Kaow-ian, was taking two foreign tourists from Phuket Airport to Patong when his Toyota minibus struck the two beasts in front of the Shell service station on Thepkrasattri Road southbound in Thalang.

One of the animals was pinned under the vehicle, while the other was catapulted onto the median strip nearby.

Mr Suchart faces possible charges of reckless driving causing injury, while the owner of the two buffalo may also be charged – if he can be found. It was not immediately clear whether he had fled the scene of the accident, as is common in Thailand, or had not been there in the first place.

A rescue worker at the scene said the two buffalo paid the ultimate price for being “so reckless” in wandering out onto Phuket’s deadliest stretch of asphalt.

Fortunately the two foreign tourists, whose nationalities were not identified, did not require hospital treatment. They were sent to their resort in Patong by another vehicle.

Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers took driver Mr Suchart to Vachira Phuket Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

— Wichai Witthawat