Phuket Songkran: 48 hours with no road deaths

PHUKET: The second day of the Seven Days of Danger nationwide road-safety campaign for the Songkran Thai new year holiday period passed on Phuket without recording any deaths, leaving the island’s road toll for the period so far at zero.

The Seven Days campaign began at midnight on Wednesday (story here).

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket), which collates all road accident statistics during the campaign, reported two motorbike accidents for the period midnight Thursday through midnight Friday.

The first involved Russian national Evgeny Konovalov. At 9:50am yesterday, he fell off his motorbike on the road between Kamala and Patong. Rescue workers at the scene reported that the accident occurred because the road was wet and slippery and that Mr Konovalov was not familiar with the twists and turns along that hilly stretch of road.

The second accident reported occurred at 4:10pm, when Patchawat Naktrakul fell off her motorbike in front of the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town (map here).

However, at 5:50am today – and yet to be included in the Seven Days statistics – two young men on a motorbike slammed into a public phone box attached to a power pole on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang.

Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation arrived quickly at the scene, near the entrance to Muang Thalang School.

The man driving the motorbike was identified as 19-year-old Narerbast Chaithiangtham. His passenger, however, was not carrying any identification.

Rescue workers reported both men had been drinking alcohol, which impaired the men’s ability to explain what caused the accident.

Both men were rushed to the nearby Thalang Hospital, but later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town for further treatment.

Additional reporting by Chutharat Plerin

— Thawit Bilabdullar