TAK: Four senior Karen soldiers attending a border security meeting were killed and two others injured when the pickup truck they were travelling in crashed into a tree in Tha Song Yang district late on Tuesday night.
The fatal crash occurred near kilometre marker 112 on the Tha Song Yang-Mae Sariang Road. The Karen soldiers were on their way back from Tha Song Yang district to their base in Myanmar, Pol Lt Col Niksan Saentaepin, chief inspector at Mae Sot police station, said.
Emergency services called to the scene reported that an Isuzu D-MAK pickup truck with Tak licence plates had hit a roadside tree. Three Karen soldiers died on the spot and three others were hurt, one badly.
The injured were rushed to Tha Song Yang Hospital, where the badly-injured soldier was pronounced dead shortly after.
Police said they were all key members of the Karen ethnic minority group who had attended a border security meeting in Tha Song Yang district.
After the meeting, they were returning to their base when the car ran off the road and hit a tree.
Police suspect the driver fell asleep.
The pickup truck carrying the six Karen soldiers rests against the tree it hit. (Photo by Assawin Pinitwong)
Rescue volunteers give first aid to an injured Karen soldier before taking him and the other injured to Tha Song Yang Hospital in Tak. (Photo by Assawin Pinitwong)