Capt Ronnapoom Pempoon of Phuket City Police was notified of the accident Thepkrasattri Rd southbound, at 9pm yesterday (Feb 2).
Having arrived at the scene, police and rescue workers found a pickup truck lying on its side next to a damaged pole. Three victims were waiting for help at the scene with minor injuries.
“The three man – the driver and two passengers – got out of the car on their own before the fire started. The driver and one of the passengers were taken to Thalang Hospital while the third person was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital,” Capt Ronnapoom said.
Capt Ronnapoom was able to name only one of the victims, Pakit Nuset, 28. According to Capt Ronnapoom, the other two were Thai males as well, but the officer failed to provide their names to The Phuket News.
“While rescue workers were rendering assistance to the victims, the engine of the pickup got ablaze (see viedo here). Firefighers were called at the scene, but the fire spread to the cables on the pole, sp it took some 30 minutes to cut off the electricity supply and 15 minutes more to put out the flames,” Capt Ronnapoom explained.
“According to our preliminary investigation, it was raining heavily in Phuket Town that night and the truck driver was travelling at high speed. Then the truck slid off the road, and that was how the accident happened. The cost of damage hasn't been estimated yet, the investigation is ongoing,” he added.
Additional reporting by Tanyaluk Sakoot