CHAI NAT: Eleven Myanmar nationals travelling back home for Songkran in a crowded van overloaded with luggage fell unconscious as they passed through Manorom district on Wednesday and were rushed to hospital.
Van driver Prakhiang Thongphichit, 43, said the eight men, two women and a year-old child had rented his van to take them from Surat Thani in the South to Mae Sot district in Tak, where they would cross the border to be with their families during the Songkran festival.
Each had a lot of luggage that they also loaded into the van, which was packed solid, Mr Prakhiang said.
If he had not allowed them to take all their belongings, they would not have hired his van. He was left with no choice but to allow it, he said.
Around kilometre marker 147 on Highway 32 some passengers began vomiting. Others did not respond when he tried to wake them up. He then pulled over, stopped and quickly open the door for ventilation. He alerted a rescue team to take them to a hospital.
Lack of air inside the packed vehicle was believed to have caused the problem.
Eleven Myanmar people - 10 adults and a child - were rushed to hospital in Chai Nat after they fainted in a packed van on the way to Mae Sot district, Tak, on Wednesday. They were returning to Myanmar for the Songkran festival. (Photo by Chudate Seehawong)