4 passengers burned alive in a van



BANGKOK: -- Four passengers were burned alive and three others, including the driver, were injured when a passenger van caught fire after it scratched a power pole before crashing into a motorcycle and a pickup truck on Nakhon Si Thammarat-Surat Thani highway Wednesday afternoon.

The four dead victims were identified as Ms Chuenkamon Noiwisai,25; Ms Soiruthai Kongwarin, 21; Mr Somporn Suparbrote, 49 and a monk, Phra Pairat Satrairote, 34.

Police said that the passenger van, driven by Mr Hart Talae with six passengers on board was leaving Nakhon Si Thammarat for Surat Thani when the accident occurred. The speeding van lost control, first scratching a roadside power pole before it crashed into a motorcycle and a pickup truck and caught fire apparently from an LPG gas tank in the van.

The driver and two other passengers narrowly escape death because they were flung out of the van by the force of the collision while four other passengers were trapped inside the vehicle and burned alive, said the police.

But the exact cause of the accident will have to wait until the police have questioned the driver who was seriously injured.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/161467


-- Thai PBS 2016-04-29

A horrific van accident in Thailand? Shocking.

Speeding. Lost control. Serious accident. Deaths. RIP. And....repeat repeat repeat....

Scratched?

Obviously the van lacked stability from not being packed like a sardine can (as usually operated).

I drive on the highway daily and the minivan drivers are without a doubt the fastest and most reckless of all the idiots on the road.

I drive on the highway daily and the minivan drivers are without a doubt the fastest and most reckless of all the idiots on the road.

Totally agree with you there.

It is also one of the few jobs in the world where people who do it for a profession are worse at it than mere amateurs.

Think about it; when you make that much kilometers you would expect to become better and better at it like in any other job.

"The speeding van lost control, first scratching a roadside power pole before it crashed into a motorcycle and a pickup truck and caught fire apparently from an LPG gas tank in the van."

Van company should be charged with criminal negligence for openers. So much for Thai crackdown on dangerous vans and drivers. For the umpteenth time, how about patrol cars actually out in traffic?

This calls for a crackdown!!!

Oh wait, the glorious General promised one of those some time ago. Oh well, this will be a new and improved crackdown.

What ? Speeding ? NO way !

I drive on the highway daily and the minivan drivers are without a doubt the fastest and most reckless of all the idiots on the road.

So true.

Why not install speed limiters in vans, buses, pick-ups, trucks ?

That could safe thousands of lives.

I drive on the highway daily and the minivan drivers are without a doubt the fastest and most reckless of all the idiots on the road.

Totally agree with you there.

It is also one of the few jobs in the world where people who do it for a profession are worse at it than mere amateurs.

Think about it; when you make that much kilometers you would expect to become better and better at it like in any other job.

Yes, they do become better and better in speeding

It sounds like the driver, and I guess two front seat passengers, must not have been wearing seatbelts. Otherwise, how could they have been flung out of the vehicle?

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

"The speeding van lost control, first scratching a roadside power pole before it crashed into a motorcycle and a pickup truck and caught fire apparently from an LPG gas tank in the van."

Van company should be charged with criminal negligence for openers. So much for Thai crackdown on dangerous vans and drivers. For the umpteenth time, how about patrol cars actually out in traffic?

There are many patrol cars out on the roads

Some collecting for their next meal

Others going to get the food

And some taking the kids out

I drive on the highway daily and the minivan drivers are without a doubt the fastest and most reckless of all the idiots on the road.

along with the crazy idiots in pick up trucks, modified to belt out black smoke, which they regularly do by speeding off from a standstill whenever possible - hate those idiots

Its a pity that this driver was not killed otherwise one road menace would have been eliminated. I really hope he would be killed very soon for the sake of public safety.

Edited April 29, 201610 yr by wvavin

...does this make any sense....

...is this acceptable....excusable....

...forgiven with a lame excuse/apology/explanation.....???

...these are peoples lives here....

...this is bloody insane....

...this is not breaking a dish or dirtying the carpet.....

Why not install speed limiters in vans, buses, pick-ups, trucks ?

Most speed limiters can be isolated by even the simplest mechanic.

Unless there is a rigorous enforcement by roadside checking, the vans would continue to speed and only reinstate the speed limiter at times of annual check.

Wished the Thai people could sue the police for allowing this carnage to go on and on, and on, and on.

The police chief ought to be fired for inability to stop the killings by mini van drivers.

This tragic accident also reminds me of the recent incident where a passenger river boat's LPG tank in Bangkok blew up

I believe that LPG tanks in cars or buses are designed to survive any accidents, with safety features like inertial switches and automatic fire extinguishers.

Were the tanks in these incidents, perhaps, improperly installed?

And I always thought that the LOS was the "Hub of transport safety"?

How funny, the exact cause needs to be determined: simply: driving out of control too fast for road condition, driver should go to jail for a long time

RIP to the passengers. A horrible way to leave this world.

RIP to the passengers. A horrible way to leave this world.

Even more precisely--a hellish way to go.

Its a pity that this driver was not killed otherwise one road menace would have been eliminated. I really hope he would be killed very soon for the sake of public safety.

I expect hateful comments on this forum.. but this really is going too far.

We know nothing about the cause of this accident except what we are told by the media which in Thailand have an appalling record of just making shit up.

You hope he will be killed.... you are sick!

Edited April 29, 201610 yr by technologybytes

RIP, and shocking to know. Most vans run out of control all the time! Probably government need to introduce some speed limits for the daily commuters's vans to save the lives. Their objective is more speed, and more running mean more passengers and more money, and brings to the grave.

Vans are always less safe than Cars. LPG is as safe if not safer than petrol. However given the impact the tank probably ruptured . Would have been like a blow torch in the vehicle. R.I.P those poor people. Such things happen on roads all over the World. Sad but not uncommon

Took Van 3 times the first 2 not so bad but the 3rd did it for me,

no more vans ever they just dont care about the passengers !!!

Are there any minivans left on Thailand's roads?

These vans should all be fitted with pop out back windows as a second exit. The one door exit for 14 people is a joke. I just took a van back from huahin and stuck in the back prayed all the way. Two fat people squeezed in and blocked all access to the door. The back section filled with with bags blocked the back door. The driver speeding at 120 k an hour, whilst chatting to his girlfriend and in between rummaging around for snacks and looking at his GPS.

I almost had a heart attack just from the stress. I pay 2000 baht for a taxi. We agree on speed limit and no phone before the trip. Worth every penny.

Sadly another "accident" in a history of far too many. Crazy drivers for the most part who think that they have the absolute right of way over every other road user. Compounded by vans with weak body structures, too many seats crammed in, and capable of speeds far greater than the suspension and brakes are up to.

No point in imposing speed limits on them as they will simply be ignored. They need to be equipped with speed limiters and tachographs with heavy penalties for tampering and driven only by people licensed to do so via a proper driving test.

How many more have to die in these vans for action to be taken?

LPG tanks in Thailand. Rolling time bombs. Again and again and again.............