PHATTHALUNG: Twenty-nine illegal migrants from Myanmar crammed into a pickup truck were arrested after the vehicle overturned on a southbound road in Muang district yesterday morning.
The modified pickup truck with a tarpaulin covering overturned on Phetkasem Road along Phatthalung-Hat Yai route in tambon Tha Khae around 6.30am on Wednesday, after its left tyre burst, said Pol Capt Supachai Muen-aksorn, a duty officer at Muang station in Phatthalung.
The driver and passengers on board the vehicle fled when police arrived at the scene.
All 29 passengers, who were illegal migrants from Myanmar, were later arrested about one kilometre away from the accident scene. They were hiding in the houses of residents, police said.
The 29 illegal migrants included eight women, two children and one injured person.
The driver managed to flee the scene of the accident.
During questioning, the migrants told police that they had illegally crossed the border via Ranong province and later stayed in Chumphon before heading to Songkhla.
They had contacted Thai job brokers to work in another country.
The injured passenger was sent to Phatthalung Hospital, while the other 28 illegal migrants were sent to Phatthalung police station to be processed.