RAYONG: Two Cambodian migrant workers were killed and five others, including the driver, were hurt when a passenger van skidded off a road and plunged into a swamp in Nikhom Phatthana district yesterday.
The accident occurred on Road No.36 from Chon Buri to Rayong in tambon Makhamkhu, said Pol Capt Damchaluay Samkhanying, deputy investigation chief at the Nikhom Phatthana station, who was alerted yesterday morning.
A white passenger van with Bangkok licence plates was found in a roadside swamp when police and rescue workers arrived at the scene. People inside were crying for help.
Police found two female passengers dead inside the wreckage. Three men and two women were injured.
Driver Nawin Phonkhongnok, 40, who was among the injured, told police the van, operating on the Pattaya-Ban Laem route, was carrying six Cambodian workers from Pattaya to the Ban Laem checkpoint in Chanthaburi, where they were planning to cross the border to their home country.
The stretch of road where the accident occurred was steep and under construction. The driver lost control of the vehicle, causing the van to skid off the road, where it overturned and came to a halt in the swamp.
Police plan to question the driver further after he recovers from his injuries. They are also checking with the van operator to determine if it had the proper permits.