SURAT THANI: A woman and one of her daughters were killed when their car was hit by a Yala-bound sprinter train at a crossing in Phunphin district on Saturday morning. Her younger child also suffered serious injuries.
The crash happened at the unguarded crossing between Maluan and Thung Phor railway stations in tambon Phunphin, said Pol Lt Col Chokdee Sukhor, investigation chief at Phunphin police station, who was reported at around 8.35am on Saturday.
Police and rescue workers rushing to the scene found the badly damaged Totoya Yaris about 50 metres from the tracks.
Driver Amornrat Suator, 34, was found dead and trapped inside her car. Her two daughters -- Saranporn Phadthong, 7, and Supatchara, 4 -- were badly hurt. After being rushed to a hospital, Saranporn was pronounced dead and Supatchara was in critical condition, suffering serious skull injuries and underwent surgery.
The locomotive of the Bangkok-Yala sprinter train was found partly damaged. Repair crews took one hour to fix the damaged section before the train continued to send passengers to the next stop at Surat Thani railway station.
Before the incident, Amornrat was taking her daughters to tutoring classes in tambon Phunphin. Police assumed the woman might not have noticed the oncoming train from Bangkok when she passed the unguarded crossing.
The force of the crash threw the car onto a grass field along the track.
Supinya Phadthong, 35, Amornrat's husband, said his wife often took their children to tutoring classes. Normally, she did not use this crossing as he had told her not to use it due to dense grass and poor visibility in the area.
He urged the State Railway of Thailand to put up a barrier at the crossing to prevent a recurrence. Grass for cattle should not have been planted along the railway tracks, he said.
"I'm deeply saddened by the losses. My youngest daughter still suffers serious injuries,’’ said Mr Supinya.
Surat Thani governor Witchawut Jintor, who also went to the scene, said he had ordered officials to cut trees and grass along the railway crossing to improve visibility for motorists and people using the route. He would coordinate with the State Railway of Thailand to find ways to prevent a recurrence.
Thai media report another sprinter had hit a pickup truck at another unguarded crossing in Tha Chana district of this southern province on Jan 22 this year, killing two.
Rescue workers check the wreckage of the car which plunged into a lower ground near the rail track following a train-car crash in Surat Thani's Phunphin district on Saturday morning. (Photo by Supapong Chaolan)