SONGKHLA: Rescue workers saved three injured men from certain death, pulling them from their burning vehicle after it crashed into a roadside tree in Rattaphum district early on Tuesday morning.
The accident occurred on a road in Moo 6 village of tambon Kamphaeng Phet about 5.30am. Emergency units called to the scene found the Honda CR-V in the middle of the road with smoke billowing from its damaged front.
There were three injured men trapped inside. Only three minutes after rescue workers freed them from the car, the vehicle was engulfed in flames.
Fire fighters later put out the blaze but the vehicle was by then a charred wreck. The road was closed to traffic during the rescue operation.
The three men were identified as driver Suchart Nukaeo, 28, who was severely injured, and passengers Teerapong Longchum, 29, and Sasin Saiburi, 35.
Police suspect the driver dozed off. There were no skid marks on the road. It appeared the car hit a roadside tree and bounced back onto the road. The vehicle was powered by normal fuel, not liquified or compressed gas.