CHIANG RAI – On Tuesday, Thammanan Rescue received a report of a serious collision involving two pickup trucks, with several people trapped inside the vehicles. The crash happened on the Chiang Rai – Thoeng road, near Ban Rong Boe, in Moo 12, Huai Sak subdistrict, Mueang district, Chiang Rai province.
At the scene, rescuers found a grey Toyota pickup with Uttaradit registration plates that had collided with a black Toyota pickup bearing Chiang Rai plates. Initial checks showed one man had died at the scene. Five other men were trapped in the wreckage of the vehicles.
Rescue volunteers used hydraulic tools to cut open the pickups and free the injured. Two of the victims were in critical condition and needed CPR at the scene before being handed over to an emergency ambulance for transfer to Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital. The other three injured men were also taken to the same hospital for treatment.
Later, authorities were informed that the two men who were critically injured had died in the hospital. This brought the total number of deaths to three, all of whom had been travelling in the grey pickup. Police from Mueang Chiang Rai Police Station are investigating the exact cause of the crash.
Chiang Rai, the northernmost province of Thailand, experiences a disproportionately high burden of road accidents compared to many other regions, largely due to its mountainous terrain, rural road networks, heavy reliance on motorcycles, and tourism-driven traffic.
National data from the Road Accident Victims Protection Company (RVP) indicate that Thailand as a whole sees around 20,000 road traffic deaths annually (approximately 50 per day as of 2023), with motorcycles involved in over 80% of fatalities.
The northern region, including Chiang Rai, accounts for a significant share of these incidents, often exacerbated by speeding, drunk driving, and poor helmet compliance during peak periods.
Chiang Rai consistently ranks among Thailand’s top provinces for accident volume and fatalities, particularly in single-vehicle crashes on winding rural roads.
