SONGKHLA: Five workers taking a rest after cutting grass were killed and another one badly hurt when a car driven by a Malaysian tourist rammed into them in Rattaphum district on Tuesday afternoon.
The fatal crash occurred at around 3pm on Asia Highway in tambon Khuhatai, said Pol Lt Col Thewa Daoruang, investigation chief at Rattaphum police station.
A black Proton car with Malaysian licence plates was found plunged into a ditch when police arrived at the scene.
A police investigation found that the car, driven by a 31-year-old Malaysian woman, was travelling from Krabi on the way to Hat Yai in Songkhla when it hit something on the road. This caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, which rammed into a group of six workers sitting along the road and plunged into the roadside ditch.
The force of the crash killed four workers on the spot and seriously hurt two others. One of the injured workers was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
The dead victims were identified as Iem Chaikaew, 53; Witchaya Thongma, 51; Somporn Sawatdiraksa, 54; Theerawut Mongkhol, 37; and Wirat Semkhai, 34. The injured worker was identified as Bamreur Ketmoon, 56. All worked at the Kamphaeng Phet highway station.
The Malaysian woman of the Kelantan state, who drove the car, and two other Malaysian women were unhurt.
Police were investigating and charges would be pressed against the driver. They have notified the Malaysian consulate attached to Songkhla about the crash.
Ms Pimthada Chansuriya, chief of Rattaphum district, inspected the scene of the crash and ordered concerned agencies to take care of the families of the dead victims and the injured worker. She later went to the police station to follow up the police investigation.
Ngamphon Buaphud, driver of the Kamphaeng Phet highway station, said eight workers had cut grass along the road before the crash. Six of them later took a rest near at the ditch dividing the road when the car hit them.
The force of the crash kills five workers and seriously injures another one in Songkhla's Rattaphum district. (Photo by Assawin Pakkawan)