SING BURI: Thirteen Myanmar nationals and a Thai driver were killed after their van was engulfed in flames following a crash with a lorry en route from the border town of Mae Sot to Bangkok early yesterday morning.
Police and rescue workers were dispatched to the scene after police in Muang district of this central province were alerted to the crash on the Asian Highway at 2.30am.
They found the charred wreckage of a van bearing a Bangkok licence plate some 10 metres from a 10-wheeled lorry loaded with rice that had a Nakhon Sawan plate. The lorry was parked in the middle of the road. The back of the vehicle showed damage suggesting it had been struck from the rear.
Rescue workers retrieved the badly burned bodies of 14 victims inside the van, which displayed the name of its company, Boon Ruean Tour Co Ltd, police said.
An initial investigation indicated that 13 migrant workers from Myanmar had boarded the vehicle in Tak's Mae Sot district and were bound for the capital.
Police have yet to identify the bodies.
Soonthorn Fakthong, a 55-year-old lorry driver, said he was on his way to deliver rice in Saraburi. He said his vehicle was rear-ended by the van, resulting in the blaze, upon which he immediately contacted the police.
All the bodies were taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a post-mortem examination. After their identities have been determined, the bodies will be returned to their families for traditional funeral ceremonies.
In a related matter, concerns are being raised about a lack of regulation for chartered vans used to transport tourists as two fatal crashes have claimed the lives of almost 20 people this month.
Nikorn Jamnong, a former deputy transport minister who has become a road safety advocate, is stepping up calls for the government to introduce guidelines to better control chartered vans.
On Nov 8, four Japanese tourists and their Thai tour guide were killed in Ayutthaya when their chartered van smashed into a 10-wheel truck in Bang Pa-in district. Police said the van driver dozed off.
Mr Nikorn said the safety record for public and inter-provincial vans is improving but not for chartered vans.
