Thread: At least 25 killed in a headon collision in Chon Buri

At least 25 people were killed and several others were injured in a deadly collision between a passenger van and a pickup truck on Road No 344 in Chon Buri’s Ban Bung district on Monday afternoon.

Witnesses said that several of the victims were trapped and burned alive in the two vehicles which caught fire following the collision.

Rescue workers said that 14 people, including four men and 10 females, died in the Bangkok-Chanthaburi passenger van whereas 11 people, including five men and six women, in the ill-fated pickup truck were killed.

Initial police report said that the passenger van which was heading for Bangkok from Rayong province jumped the lane and collided headon with an incoming pickup truck bound for Rayong.

The strong impact from the collision caused the two vehicles to catch fire, trapping several passengers inside.

One of the witnesses wrote in his Facebook page under the name of Phipob Promkate, saying that most of the witnesses did not bother to rush to the rescue of the victims trapped inside the burning vehicles but instead used their smartphones to take pictures of the incident.

“I got off (from his car) to help the injured, ran to ask for a sling and a rope from those who stopped to watch the incident. But no one bothered with him and busily took pictures with their smartphones.

If we had helped pull the pickup truck from the van, some who were trapped in the truck might have survived. I felt saddened for being unable to help. I still remember the woman who was trapped next to the driver. I was forced to stand there, listening to the painful screams of that woman. I was totally helpless. Anyway, I thanked a man from a black D-Max pickup truck who tried to pull the pickup truck with the help of a towing belt which broke and thanked two men who helped pull a woman out if the truck.”

In response to Phipob’s post, one wrote that the witnesses did their best and offered condolences to the dead victims.

At least 25 killed in a headon collision in Chon Buri - Thai PBS English News

'Kin hell, that's a harrowing blow to their safety week...

RIP...

See the car and van...read this news I feel very sad
in social talked about some guy on the van study as doctor at chulalongkorn university...will have good future but this accident killed him
RIP for poor peoples

The refusal of this and previous governments to control the behavior of these van and bus drivers, and the set minimum standards for the quality of persons allowed to drive them is beyond disgusting.
Driving passenger and commercial vehicles is a profession, it's not a minimum wage unskilled job to given to the lowest of human garbage.

sorry to hear that Humbert.

a crying shame these fukkers never learn from accidents

It was her uncle's family. 12 people in the truck. One of the victims was a 3 year old. One woman, related by marriage survived.

shit

I used to ride those vans. Death traps for sure.

They send these drivers out going back and forth for hours on end. These idiots regularly fall asleep at the wheel. They need to strictly regulate this business.

Originally Posted by Humbert

Several members of my wife's family died in this crash. They are in a state of grief.
They were in the pick up truck.

Very sorry to hear about your wife's and your loss. I wish both of you the best coping with this tragedy.

Originally Posted by Humbert

Several members of my wife's family died in this crash. They are in a state of grief.
They were in the pick up truck.

Damn. So sorry to hear that. Condolences to your wife and her family.

Woah thats a fuckin disaster!

Nothing will ever change with these idiots. Nothing at all.

Originally Posted by Humbert

They send these drivers out going back and forth for hours on end. These idiots regularly fall asleep at the wheel.

Condolences to your family. Sorry to hear it.

It does look like the minibus driver actually fell asleep at the wheel in this one, but the media & police always point to 'falling asleep at the wheel' or 'brake failure' like somehow thats 'an accident' that nobody is really 'at fault for'. Never mentioning speeding, driving like an asshole, tailgating, overloaded with passengers.

Nothings ever gonna change here regarding road safety. Driving with passengers requires a logbook of drive/rest time/miles/kilometers, driving tests for passenger busses, maintenance, and actual police that enforce the laws.

Thats just 'too much work/requires too much headspace' for these people and stuff like this is going to continue to happen.

Originally Posted by Humbert

Several members of my wife's family died in this crash. They are in a state of grief.

Fuck, real sorry to hear that mate.

Originally Posted by taxexile

the gas tanks without the compulsory inertia valves that are fitted INSIDE the vehicles are never mentioned either.

Yep but goddam I don't even know if the bottles themselves can hold up to a head-on at-speed smash without rupturing. Plus most of the junk is locally made (or chinese) junk & sub standard anyway. Its all about the baht with these people and fuck the rules/safety.

If the driver would have somehow survived, along with some passengers, he probably would have run off & left his passengers to fend for themselves. They like to pull that stunt too. Plays to the mindset of some of these people.

Originally Posted by Humbert

Several members of my wife's family died in this crash. They are in a state of grief.
They were in the pick up truck.

Sorry to hear about that. My condolences ...

Government were going on about having GPS on all minivans by Songkran. Not sure how that will work in regulating driver hours.

What's wrong with introducing the tachograph and enforcing drivers to log hours for all commercial and public vehicles. Been like that for years in the West.....

What's wrong with introducing the tachograph and enforcing drivers to log hours for all commercial and public vehicles. Been like that for years in the West.....

introducing it and then properly enforcing it are two different things.

corruption and a mai pen rai attitude ensure that nobody really gives a fuckk.

Originally Posted by Troy

Government were going on about having GPS on all minivans by Songkran. Not sure how that will work in regulating driver hours.

Not sure how GPS trip logging will do anything positive as the government or the police or the people are incapable of fault. Its hardly ever the driver, or the company. Its 'so tired' 'can not stop' BS. Government/Media can not even legislate/report in a way thats honest. Must protect the good name of thailand at all costs and fuck personal responsibility & accountability.

Quite simply, horrific.
The carnage is Asian in its scale, and the double tragedy is that it is just so preventable.

How difficult might it be to ban minivans? Evidently, impossible for the Thai authorities.

The Establishment simply does not care - the disparity in the world's wealth between the impoverished and the rich is among the highest here in Thailand, a comparatively rich country with an awful lot of poor people.

I cringe every time I see a pickup barrelling down the tollway with six or seven folk crammed into the back sheltering from the sun under a makeshift awning or watching a procession of packed minivans hurtling down the motorway at 80mph with scarcely five metres between each vehicle and the carriageway greasy from a recent fall of rain.

I do not drive here and I certainly never travel by minivan, and nor do I permit the wingman to travel thus otherwise she will have her wings clipped.

Sympathies with Humbert.

Condolences Humbert....

@humbert - sorry for your loss

RIP to the poor ppl...

On another note, the stupidity of ppl nowadays, and it's nor just in Th. Taking pics or vids instead of rescuing ppl? My goodness... smart(dumb) phones will be the bane of our existence. Just look at the French tourist who wanted a selfie w/ the croc.. off topic, but still re: the use of phones... sigh...

Condolences to Humbert's family.

RIP to all who lost their life (Dr or street sweeper) makes no difference to me.

Horrible way to go.. needless waste of life.

Standing around taking pics, while human beings are burning to death..Jesus wept.

Just a word on the standing around thingo that has been given a run.

If ya have a look at the fire storm that happened there was no way in this world anyone could of assisted.

It was simply way to hot to get anywhere near that wreck, add in the danger of the possibility of the gas cylinders exploding and all was lost.

The only way anything could of been done was to have a fully equipped fire truck loaded with foam ready to go.

Hand held Fire extinguishers would not touch this given that it fueled by gas.

Better to save the theatricals for the stage.

Just sayin like.

One of the witnesses wrote in his Facebook page under the name of Phipob Promkate, saying that most of the witnesses did not bother to rush to the rescue of the victims trapped inside the burning vehicles but instead used their smartphones to take pictures of the incident.

“I got off (from his car) to help the injured, ran to ask for a sling and a rope from those who stopped to watch the incident. But no one bothered with him and busily took pictures with their smartphones.

If we had helped pull the pickup truck from the van, some who were trapped in the truck might have survived. I felt saddened for being unable to help. I still remember the woman who was trapped next to the driver. I was forced to stand there, listening to the painful screams of that woman. I was totally helpless. Anyway, I thanked a man from a black D-Max pickup truck who tried to pull the pickup truck with the help of a towing belt which broke and thanked two men who helped pull a woman out if the truck.”

Utterly horrendous and fucking pathetic in equal measure.

Condolences to Humbert and family. RIP to the deceased.