SURAT THANI- A pickup truck driver was killed when a Bangkok-bound passenger train slammed into his vehicle at an unmanned railway crossing in Ban Na Doem district on Thursday night.
The crash occurred at Ban Khlongya railway crossing in tambon Na Tai. A rapid passenger train, travelling from Sungai Kolok to Bangkok, hit the Surat Thani licensed truck as it passed through the crossing at 9.54pm, said Pol Capt Supachai Sukkaew, duty investigation chief at Ban Na Doem police station.
The force of the collision ripped the pickup in two. Driver Wichai Phet-arwut, 37 was killed and his body later extracted from wrecked truck cab.
The train locomotive, which was pulling 15 carriages and about 650 passengers, derailed. No passengers were hurt.
Thanawat Rodjit, chief of Ban Na Doem district, said on Friday that railway authorities used another locomotive to drag the wreckage of the pickup truck from the tracks, while another engine hauled the carriages to Ban Na Doem railway station.
The crash disrupted train services, which resumed around 2am, said Mr Thanawat.
A locomotive pulls the wreckage of the pickup truck from the tracks following the fatal crash at an unmanned crossing in Ban Na Doem district, Surat Thani on Thursday night. (Photo by Supapong Chaolan)