On August 4, at 10:00 a tourist van plunged into the Ratchaprapa Dam, causing a scare among park officials and tourists. The incident occurred at the Ratchaprapa Dam's tourist pier in Khao Pung, Ban Ta Khun District, where officers from Khao Sok National Park and the Chiew Larn Municipality's tourist service center were on duty.

 

The van, carrying only the driver at the time, drove past the roadside barrier, collided with the steel railing, and fell onto the concrete bridge before crashing onto the iron pontoon and sinking into the dam's reservoir. Witnesses, including many tourists, were shocked by the accident.

 

Emergency response teams, local boat operators, and nearby residents quickly rescued the driver, who was the sole occupant of the van. The driver, an unidentified male, suffered a broken left wrist and a laceration under his chin but remained conscious. He was promptly taken to Ban Ta Khun Hospital by Chiew Larn Municipality officials.

 

Initial inquiries revealed that the van, a non-scheduled tourist service, had dropped off about ten tourists at the pier before the accident occurred. It is believed that the driver may have mistakenly accelerated or failed to brake, leading to the crash. Fortunately, no tourists were in the van at the time of the incident.

 

Ban Ta Khun Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

 

Video of the incident below.

 

 

-- 2024-08-04

 

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Lucky guy at the railing! Could have been killed.

 

Complete fail of brain or machine.

Who knows.

That's one of the maddest things I've ever seen.

 

only in thailand.

 

bob.

22 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Complete fail of brain or machine.

Who knows.

I could give it a good guess.

1 hour ago, bob smith said:

That's one of the maddest things I've ever seen.

 

only in thailand.

 

bob.

I agree, I can't even guess how he managed that.

6 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

The van, carrying only the driver at the time, drove past the roadside barrier, collided with the steel railing, and fell onto the concrete bridge before crashing onto the iron pontoon and sinking into the dam's reservoir.

Clearly the fault of the van….

And ladies and gentlemen , if you care to look out of any window you will see the crystal clear water of the Ratchaprapa dam.

 

But for Buddhas sake DON'T open any of them !!

10 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Lucky guy at the railing! Could have been killed.

 

Complete fail of brain or machine.

Who knows.

I was thinking the same, about an inch away from entering the next life.

9 hours ago, nakhonandy said:

I agree, I can't even guess how he managed that.

Practice... 

Sorry.  That video made me laugh.

 

No doubt he will blame GPS.

In another publication the driver was female.

Maybe the gender confused driver may have been trying to get the van washed.

Evel Knievel has been lying low in Thailand all these years...until now.

Yet another foreign tourism related incident. If the tourists would have stayed home, there would be no need for the tourist van and the poor man wouldn't have driven into the water. Tourists must pay for the damage, I suggest another tax.

Speed it was going I fail to see how they expected it to stop if hitting the brake and they didn't hit the accelerator by accident as it was already going Mach 1 .

1 hour ago, rwill said:

Sorry.  That video made me laugh.

 

No doubt he will blame GPS.

 

turn right in 30 meters and accelerate to light speed. 

thai submarine test

Brain failure for sure🥴

15 hours ago, bob smith said:

That's one of the maddest things I've ever seen.

 

only in thailand.

 

bob.

I know ! I was expecting a sort of tentative and confused driver gently driving off the pier.

Not Lewis Hamilton looking to secure pole position. 

If it was not a mechanical failure then I wonder, why I have to go and retest my driving skills including a two hours video (yaaawwwn) viewing and a ridiculous brake test, lining up two sticks and a colour blindness attest. 

If it was a mechanical failure, fine the tour agency which, in turn, can take the garage to the cleaners. 

But, me idiot, I completely forgot, this is Thailand! All OK, fish the van out of the pond, quick fix any visual damage, dry the upholstery and put Somchai back behind the steering wheel 🙂 

17 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Lucky guy at the railing! Could have been killed.

 

Complete fail of brain or machine.

Who knows.

Complete fail of brain or machine.........Nah, Definately the BRAIN....

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

.......drove past the roadside barrier, collided with the steel railing, and fell onto the concrete bridge before crashing onto the iron pontoon and sinking into the dam's reservoir.

In the video the van drives up the ramp (what IS that for?) Does NOT fall onto a concrete bridge, Does NOT crash into an iron pontoon but does plunge into the water. Somchai Knievel!

Certainly hope he is banned from driving passengers.

12 hours ago, realfunster said:

I know ! I was expecting a sort of tentative and confused driver gently driving off the pier.

Not Lewis Hamilton looking to secure pole position. 

 

hahahah 

 

a few months ago when i was riding down to phuket i saw a thai guy get air in his fortuner. he went down a construction side of the highway that wasn't finished. it turned into dirt and before he knew it the road was totally unlevel. all 4 tires were off the ground as he flew through the air like the transporter.