PHUKET: AN EXPAT motorcyclist tumbled from a motorcycle into the path of a pickup, causing a pileup on Phuket's notorious Patong Hill this afternoon.

The pickup swerved to avoid the man about 3.30pm but collided with the man's motorcycle. A second motorcycle crashed into the pickup.

The expat was being treated for a broken right arm and other injuries in Patong Hospital this afternoon.

Patong police said the man was proceeding from Patong to Phuket City when he misread a bend in the rain and slid across the roller coaster hillside into oncoming traffic.

The pickup could not avoid the oncoming motorcyclist, witnesses told police.

A second motorcycle slammed into the pickup. Only the expat was injured in the crash.

A volunteer at the scene said the injured man was from ''Australia or Austria.''

Previous crashes on the hill have caused long delays and in the case of an overturned bus earlier this year, forced police to advise motorists to take alternative routed between Patong and Phuket City.

The bus crash killed one man and injured scores of others. The driver fled the scene and has yet to be apprehended.