PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: A driver was burned to death and his wife escaped with injuries when a refrigerated truck caught fire after a tyre burst, causing the vehicle to crash into a high-voltage power pole in Pran Buri district on Saturday.
The accident occurred near kilometre maker 244 on Bangkok-bound Phetkasem Road in tambon Nong Tataem on Saturday morning, said Pol Lt Natthaphon Thalaenoi, investigation officer at the Pran Buri police station.
Police, rescue workers and fire crews that rushed to the scene found the 10-wheel truck with Ranong licence plates engulfed in flames.
Firefighters took about 10 minutes to bring the blaze under control while electricians cut the power in the immediate area.
The truck driver was found dead inside the vehicle with severe burns. Rescue workers used a cutting tool to pry open the wreckage to retrieve his body. His wife sustained injuries and was taken to Pran Buri Hospital.
The names of the driver and his wife were not released.
A police investigation found that the truck carrying fish from Ranong was on its way to Bangkok when a tyre burst. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which plunged into a roadside ditch and then hit a high-voltage power pole and caught fire.
Rescue workers remove the body of the driver from the wreckage of his refrigerated truck in Pran Buri on Saturday. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)