PHUKET: Four young Swedes and their Thai driver were killed today in a shocking high-speed crash north of Phuket, Phuketwan has confirmed.
The car collided with a six-wheel truck and the driver of the truck fled the scene. The Swedes - two men and two women - were all aged 21 or 22 and described as students.
All five of the people in the car were killed instantly. The impact was so great that it took rescuers almost three hours to cut the bodies free from the wreck of the saloon.
Photographs published on a Thai news site show wreckage across the roadway and the bodies in the car, pixillated out.
Later, as the occupants are freed, the number of bodybags on the road grows from one, to two to three . . .
The fatal crash came about 7am today not far from the Khok Kloi junction, where the main road north from Phuket through the province of Phang Nga splits into a coastal road towards Khao Lak and an inland road to Phang Nga Town and Krabi.
The bodies are now in Vachira Phuket Hospital. Police have named the victims as Johan Olof Nikolas Svensson, 22, Frida Madeleine Falk, 22, Anders Tobias Larsson, 22, and Elin Marita Hedbris, 21.
The dead driver is Wichit Phromluang, 26, from Udonthani province.
It is believed the four Swedish youngsters had been staying in a guesthouse in Patong, the lively west coast holiday hub on Phuket. They were heading to Chumporn, a quieter province of Thailand noted for its good beaches and diving.
The refrigerator truck, with a large rainbow on the side, is thought to have been carrying a load of fish south. Police are seeking the driver's details from the Chotpatama Company, owners of the truck.
Phang Nga - these days often called a part of ''Greater Phuket'' - has always been a popular destination for Swedes and other Scandinavians who enjoy the natural beauty of the region more than the growing crowds on Phuket.
Love of the natural environment is the reason why Phang Nga has returned to popularity among Swedes, even though most of the 540 Swedish victims of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand died in and around Khao Lak.
The car collided with a six-wheel truck and the driver of the truck fled the scene. The Swedes - two men and two women - were all aged 21 or 22 and described as students.
All five of the people in the car were killed instantly. The impact was so great that it took rescuers almost three hours to cut the bodies free from the wreck of the saloon.
Photographs published on a Thai news site show wreckage across the roadway and the bodies in the car, pixillated out.
Later, as the occupants are freed, the number of bodybags on the road grows from one, to two to three . . .
The fatal crash came about 7am today not far from the Khok Kloi junction, where the main road north from Phuket through the province of Phang Nga splits into a coastal road towards Khao Lak and an inland road to Phang Nga Town and Krabi.
The bodies are now in Vachira Phuket Hospital. Police have named the victims as Johan Olof Nikolas Svensson, 22, Frida Madeleine Falk, 22, Anders Tobias Larsson, 22, and Elin Marita Hedbris, 21.
The dead driver is Wichit Phromluang, 26, from Udonthani province.
It is believed the four Swedish youngsters had been staying in a guesthouse in Patong, the lively west coast holiday hub on Phuket. They were heading to Chumporn, a quieter province of Thailand noted for its good beaches and diving.
The refrigerator truck, with a large rainbow on the side, is thought to have been carrying a load of fish south. Police are seeking the driver's details from the Chotpatama Company, owners of the truck.
Phang Nga - these days often called a part of ''Greater Phuket'' - has always been a popular destination for Swedes and other Scandinavians who enjoy the natural beauty of the region more than the growing crowds on Phuket.
Love of the natural environment is the reason why Phang Nga has returned to popularity among Swedes, even though most of the 540 Swedish victims of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand died in and around Khao Lak.
This road is perhaps the most dangerous road I have ever had the misfortune to travel. And I have done so many times. I estimate it be safer to drive the Indi 500 circuit against the race flow than try avoid the mad myriad of truck, bus and mini bus drivers who hurtle down this road with no regard for life and limb.
Posted by Nip on February 1, 2012 20:31