Seven killed in passenger van crash

Seven killed in passenger van crash

A total of seven people were killed, six of them Cambodian passengers, when a public van plunged off a main highway into a ditch in Chana district of Songkhla province early Friday morning.

The wrecked van lies upside down in a median ditch on the Asia Highway in Chana district of Songkhla. (Photo by Vichayant Boonchote)

The van crashed on the Asia Highway in tambon Chanong of Chana district around 4.30am Friday.

Five people were found dead inside the vehicle. Rescue teams sent the injured passengers to nearby hospitals where another two died. A total of eight people survived the crash. Two remained in hospital.

Six of the dead passengers were Cambodian workers and the seventh was the Thai driver, according to Pol Capt Seree Sukkatikorn, case officer at Kuanmead police station. Two of the dead Cambodians were identified as Chao Lee and Mom Him.

The van picked up 11  Cambodian workers from Rong Klua border market in northeastern Sa Kaeo province, heading to Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat. Also in the passenger van were a second  Thai driver and two Malaysian job brokers.

The van had arrived at the Sa Kaeo border to collect the Cambodian workers around noon Thursday and was heading back to the South.

The police suspected the driver fell asleep at the wheel because he driven too long without proper rest.

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