Loader Driver Crushed and Drowned After Falling into Ravine

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture from responders.

 

An incident occurred in Patho District, Chumphon, when a loader driver lost control while reversing, sending his vehicle tumbling into a waterlogged ravine. The heavy machine overturned, pinning the driver underwater and leading to his death before rescue workers could reach him.

 

Police Sub-Lieutenant Thawisak Raksakul, an investigator from Patho Police Station, received a report from Mr. Jarae Khwanraj, the village head of Moo 12, Patho Subdistrict, that a loader had lost control and fallen into a roadside ravine. The driver was trapped inside the cab. Police Superintendent Colonel Monsak Srisuwan and emergency responders from Patho Hospital immediately rushed to the scene.

 

Upon arrival, officials discovered a Komatsu articulated loader overturned, down a deep ravine alongside Huai So Road, approximately six kilometres from the main Patho-Lang Suan route. The driver was later identified as Mr. Somkid 47, a resident of Moo 3, Sam Yaek Subdistrict, Wichian Buri District, Phetchabun.

 

Rescue workers descended into the ravine to assist, but the loader’s immense weight, combined with the unstable, waterlogged soil, caused the vehicle to gradually sink further. As the machine pressed down on him, Mr. Somkid was submerged and drowned in full view of emergency personnel and gathered villagers, who were powerless to intervene.

 

Police then coordinated with Mr. Pramote Kaenkul, the president of the Patho Subdistrict Administrative Organisation, to deploy a crane and a specialised recovery team. After more than two hours they successfully lifted the vehicle and retrieved Mr. Somkid’s body. Upon inspection, his leg was found entangled in a rope trapping him in the vehicle.

 

Volunteer rescue worker Mr. Chanin recounted that when he arrived at the scene, the loader was already crushing down on the driver. As they attempted to free him, the vehicle continued sinking, ultimately submerging Mr. Somkid before they could save him.

 

Investigations revealed that the crash occurred after a six-wheeled truck, heavily loaded with stones, struggled to ascend the steep road. The driver decided to unload some of the stones and called for the nearby loader to assist in spreading them along the roadside. However, for reasons yet unknown, the excavator suddenly lost control while reversing and fell into the ravine, leading to the fatality.

 

-- 2025-03-19

 

[flyingtlger]

Thailand is doing a good job keeping up the quota of having some of the most dangerous roads in the world...

 

[Tropicalevo]

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Volunteer rescue worker Mr. Chanin recounted that when he arrived at the scene, the loader was already crushing down on the driver. As they attempted to free him, the vehicle continued sinking, ultimately submerging Mr. Somkid before they could save him

 

Rescue workers have a very tough job and , on the whole, do it really well.

It must be gut-wrenching not to be able to save someone and to watch them slowly die.