BANGKOK, Feb 23 — Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul expressed her concern after a 48-year-old Chilean was killed in a collision by a pickup truck in Thailand.
She will call for investigation of the traffic accident and improved road safety measures.
Her response was in relation to the death of Juan Francisco Guillermo who was trying to set a world record by cycling 250,000 kilometres across five continents in five years.
His bicycle and the carriage on which his 40-year-old Singaporean wife Ng-Poh Leng and their two-year-old son Lucas were riding was hit by a pickup truck on the Mitrapharp Highway in Nakhon Ratchasima Saturday.
Mr Guillermo was killed and his wife and son were injured.
Ms Kobkarn sent local officials of the ministry to visit the victims at Bua Yai Hospital and to gather information from them.
The minister will send official condolences to Chile and the families of the victims.
She also asked tourist police and concerned officials serve the relatives of the victims well.
Ms Kobkarn said that the ministry would pay Bt300,000 compensation for the death and up to Bt100,000 for the medical treatment of his injured wife and child.
Concerned authorities had to review road safety measures and accident causes because that was not the first incident in which a foreign cyclist was killed in Thailand, Ms Kobkarn said.
She said the ministry would work out solutions to prevent such an incident from recurring as the government was promoting cycling nationwide. (MCOT online news)
