11 die in van crash in Thailand, including 2 children

 

Over the Lunar New Year holiday, a passenger van crash in central Thailand resulted in the burning deaths of eleven individuals, including two children, authorities reported on Monday.

In the kingdom, which has a poor reputation for road safety, traffic accidents are frequent, especially during popular holidays.

During its journey from northeastern Amnat Charoen province to Bangkok on Saturday night, the van carrying 12 people drove off the road in central Nakhon Ratchasima province, according to Police Colonel Yingyos Poldej.

One passenger was able to escape through a window, according to Yingyos, while the other passengers were all trapped and perished in the fire.

Student Thanachit Kingkaew, the survivor, claimed to have been napping when someone screamed, startling him awake.

"The van was upside down when I awoke, which was the second thing I noticed. I was blind to what occurred, "said he.

"After the collision, the fire spread throughout the entire van, beginning at the back."

He claimed, "I started kicking the glass and crawled through a little hole.

The van detonated shortly after that.

A local rescue team volunteer named Nikhom Seaun claimed that the van detonated barely seconds after it was consumed by flames.

The entire van was consumed by the fire in less than 30 seconds, he claimed.

"With the fire extinguisher I had, I was powerless. Then, the van went off three or four times."

The van used both petrol and compressed gas, according to police colonel Yingyos, but preliminary investigations revealed that the gas tank was not leaking.

He added that they were still looking into what caused the car to go off the road but "we suspect that the fire was caused by the fuel."