Lt Sunan Pethnoo of the Thalang Police was notified of the vehicle fire at 12:10pm. A green Mazda had caught fire on Thepkrasattri Rd, and rescue workers were dispatched to the scene and immediately closed the road.
Rescue workers took about 15 minutes to extinguish the fire while police prevented traffic from passing as a safety precaution. The pickup’s engine bay, bonnet and cab were scorched by the flames.
The owner of the vehicle, 52-year-old Pairin Inthachai, a Phuket electrician specialising in air conditioning and water-pump installations, told police, “I was heading to make a U-turn to go to the PTT petrol station in Baan Liporn on Thepkrasattri Rd northbound.
“Before I arrived at the U-turn, I smelled burning and saw smoke coming out from under the bonnet. I stopped and got out of the pickup as quickly as I safely could. After that the vehicle was engulfed in flames as the wind was very strong at that time,” Mr Pairin added.
Lt Sunan said, “At this stage we believe that the fire started from a short-circuit in the vehicle.”