A rescue worker was shot dead and two others wounded when members of two rescue foundations clashed early on Monday morning.

The shooting occurred in front of a Lotus store in Klong Toey district at about 1am. Scores of rescue workers briefly closed off the road hoping to catch the gunman.

The dead man was identified as Chunchana Choteprom, 25, of the Poh Teck Tung Foundation.

Sombun Kwan-uam, a rescue leader of Poh Teck Tung, said the foundation had received repeated fake accident reports on Sunday afternoon. When they responded they found only members of a rival rescue group at the same spot. The two groups argued.

Mr Sombun blamed the incident on about 70 rescue workers who had been sacked from the foundation.

He said they later joined the Siam Ruam Chai Foundation and were deployed in the same area as Poh Teck Tung rescue workers in Klong Toey and Thong Lor.

A rescue supervisor at Poh Teck Tung said the foundation apologised for closing the road, but its workers wanted to force the surrender of the gunman.

He said his colleagues hit a vehicle of the Siam Ruam Chai Foundation because they were attacked first.

Police are investigating the incident.