PHRAE: A tanker loaded with 42,000 litres of petrol overturned and burst into flames on a hill road while making a delivery to Laos, killing the driver, on Monday morning.
The accident, on the main road linking Phrae and Nan provinces, was reported to Phai Tone police station in Rong Kwang district around 6am.
Police said 10 fire trucks dispatched to the scene took almost three hours to control the fire.
Wattana Sakorn, chief of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office in Phrae, said the accident occurred on Highway 101 near the 290km marker, at the start of a curved section leading uphill. The accident closed the road for about two hours.
Prasit Limheng, the driver of the second tanker in the delivery convoy, said he saw the tanker in front topple over at the corner and explode in flames. He could not even try to save the other driver because the fire spread too quickly.
The dead driver was named as Chaichana Praphan, 45. The two tankers are owned by Thong Nathee Intertrade Co.
They had taken on their loads in Rayong. Chaichana had parked at a fuel station in Rong Kwang district and waited for Mr Prasit to catch up.
Mr Prasit said they began their journey at 5am, taking the route to the border in Huay Kon, of Nan province, and intending to cross into Laos.
