Minivan crashes through barrier and plunges into dam

This is the shocking moment a minivan crashed through a barrier and plunged into a dam in Thailand.

Driver Chananthida Ditsaya-akaranon, 39, was on her way to pick up tourists in Surat Thani province when the van's brake system reportedly failed on August 4 morning.

CCTV footage shows how the out-of-control vehicle narrowly missed a local before smashing through guardrails. It hurtled off the edge of a platform and nosedived into the water below.

Ban Ta Khun Police Station officers arrived at the scene to rescue Chananthida from the sinking van. She was conscious, but suffered a dislocated left wrist and wounds on her face. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.

A crane was later dispatched at around 3:30 pm to winch the submerged vehicle out of the water. The bumper and rear mirror were damaged in the accident.

The van was towed to a multipurpose yard in the area.

Adithep Onmuangdong, 21, one of the boat operators at the dam said he was standing near the platform when the van roared into the scene.

He said: 'I heard the loud noise of the engine and a crash before seeing the van fly over my head and into the water. Everyone rushed to the scene and helped rescue the driver from the vehicle.

'I'm in shock. I've never seen such an accident before. It was like something out of a movie.'

Adithep added that it was fortunate the van did not damage any of the boats in the dam.

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.