Passenger train hits pickup truck killing five in Thailand

A train crashed into a pickup truck killing five people and severely injured two more in Thailand.

The locomotive was travelling from Bangkok to Phitsanulok when it smashed into the vehicle on a levee crossing in Phichit province on Tuesday night, July 8.

Onlookers said the male driver was travelling with six passengers, including women and children. As they were crossing over the tracks, the oncoming train sounded its horn, but the pickup driver allegedly did not hear or see it.

The pickup was crushed and dragged some 30 metres along the tracks while the passengers were flung onto the nearby banks where their bodies were recovered.

Authorities said three people were instantly killed, while two others died of their injuries at the Phichit Hospital.

Police Major General Thadech Klomkliang, commander of the Phichit Provincial Police, led an inspection of the scene, where there was no safety barrier to lower when trains approach.

He said: 'The investigation will focus on why the driver crossed the tracks and why the driver could not see them. The victims were dead when paramedics arrived so they could not be saved. Two others suffered critical injuries and died at hospital.'

The five deceased were identified by police as Saifon Chettha, 49, Apiromporn Jumuang, 14, Boonsong Chaosakhon, 27, Somneuk Homchantuek, 50, and Prasit Rodthong, 28.

Meanwhile, the truck driver, Pratchaya Kongtad, 40, and a female passenger, Yuwadee Boonyong, 27, suffered severe injuries.

The relatives of the deceased arrived at the scene to confirm their identities, and said they were residents of a nearby village.

The group were travelling and to a Buddhist temple just a few miles away to assist with a funeral ceremony.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.