Thailand goods train, pickup truck collision kills 8, injures 4
- The driver of the pickup truck said he saw the approaching train and heard a warning horn, but his passengers urged him to keep going
- The deceased included three women aged 22, 55 and 64 and five men aged 18, 27, 55, 60 and 62
Eight people were killed when a freight train struck a pickup truck that was crossing railway tracks in an eastern province of Thailand early Friday morning, authorities said.
The accident at 2.20am also injured four people in the Muang district of Chachoengsao province, according to the State Railway of Thailand.
The 54-year-old driver, Wichai Yulek, told authorities he saw the approaching train and heard a warning horn.
He slowed, but passengers in the vehicle urged him to keep going. When he realised the truck was heading for a collision, he could not stop in time, the railway agency said.
Suraphat Prasop, 20, was in the truck carrying workers to Laem Chabang in Chonburi Province. He told authorities that he saw the train approaching as the vehicle was about to cross the railway. Despite hearing the train’s horn blast three times, the driver did not stop, he said.