A taxi driver and his woman passenger were burned to death after the cab crashed into an elevated expressway pillar in Bangkok’s Bang Plad district and exploded in flames in the early hours of Friday.
The crash occurred on Liab Thang Duan Srirat Road, which is the frontage road at Bang Plad tollgate to enter the Srirat Elevated Expressway, about 2.20am, said Pol Lt Thinnakorn Wannakul, deputy chief investigator at Bang Plad police station.
The burning, crumpled taxi was jammed close up against the pillar. Firemen were quickly on the scene but it took them 30 minutes to extinguish the inferno, which totally consumed the vehicle.
The dead cabbie and woman passenger were found trapped inside the wreckage, burned beyond recognition.
The driver was later identified as Thongjan Patika, 49, of Kalasin, from his ID card and undamaged mobile phone, Pol Lt Thinnakorn said. Police used Thongjan's phone to inform his family in Kalasin.
No identification could be made of the woman passenger. Rescuers salvaged only what appeared to be a melted silicon breast implant and a fire blackened Mc Jeans button from her stomach area, Thai media reported.
Boonruang Dokchampa, 57, the driver of a pickup truck, witnessed the horror accident. He told police he had been hired to move someone's belongings from a house nearby. He heard a loud noise, like a smash, and rushed to see what had happened.
He saw a crashed taxi up against the pillar. The front section was already starting to burn, and the flames were spreading toward the driver’s seat. He emptied a bottle of water he had with him onto the flames, but failed to douse the fire.
He could hear a woman inside the car shrieking in fear and pain, but the doors were locked shut and he could not help her. Then there were loud explosions.
Pol Lt Thinnakorn said the bodies of the victims were sent to the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine. The cause of the crash was not known. Police would investigate further and try to identify the dead woman.
(Photo by Por Tek Tung Foundation's rescue team via f@FM91trafficpro)