BANGKOK, Jan 23 (TNA) – Eleven bodies of those killed in a passenger van crash in Nakhon Ratchasima were sent to the Police General Hospital in Bangkok for identification.
The van running from Amnat Charoen collided with the median barrier and plunged into a ditch on the Bangkok-bound Mittraparb Highway in Si Khiu district on Saturday night.
The van was engulfed in flames and exploded after the crash. Eleven people including two children were killed. The passenger, a 20-year-old man, the only one who survived said he kicked the window and crawled out of the van safely before the van exploded.
The superintendent of the Si Khiu police station Pol Col Yongyot Ponladej said the bodies were burnt beyong recognition, so they were sent for identification, which needs DNA samples from their relatives.
It is expected that the process will take 3-4 days before the bodies will be returned to their families for religious ceremonies, he added.
The cause of the accident is still unknown, awaiting evidence examination. Initially, the speed rate of the vehicle was detected at about 82 kilometres per hour within the legal limit.
The van was powered by fuel and compressed gas. An engineer found the fuel tank was ruptured, possibly by the crash and it could be the cause of the fire.
The ill-fated vehicle has both mandatory and voluntary insurance. The compensation for each dead victim is 1.1 million baht in total and 1.35 million baht for the driver, killed in the accident. (TNA)
