News
Crash in Phuket Kills 2 Russian Tourists, Injures 2 French Tourists
Two Russians and a Thai woman were killed, and two Frenchmen were injured, in an incident involving two motorcycles and a taxi in Phuket Thailand.
The accident happened around 3.30 a.m. in front of the Siam Commercial Bank in the Muang district, according to Phuket Police. The 4 critically injured were found crying out in pain on the road, according to emergency personnel.
Three were sent to Phuket’s Chalong Hospital, while the fourth was taken to Bangkok Dibuk Hospital.
Two of the accident victims were later pronounced dead: a Thai woman, 26, and a Russian woman, 29.
According to Phuket police, the two other injured victims were Frenchmen.
A 35-year-old Russian man was discovered dead on the side of the road near a crashed Ducati motorcycle. His identity was withheld pending notification of family members.
His body was sent to the Vachira Phuket Hospital.
A Phuket Isuzu Mu-7 taxi with rear damage was stopped on the road near a Ducati big bike.
A wrecked Filano Honda motorcycle was discovered around 80 metres from the accident scene near a roadside power pole.
Mr. Medic Phakhin Phiew-on, 44, who witnessed the collision said the Ducati motorcycle was travelling at high speed from Rawai beach to the SCB branch.
It collided with the other motorcycle, which was about to perform a U-turn in front of Wat Sawang Arom and was ridden by a foreign male with a woman and another foreigner riding pillion.
Mr Phakin stated that the Ducati then collided with the cab. The big bike rider perished on the spot.
According to local media, the Ducati was ridden by a 35-year-old Russian man. His pillion rider was a 29-year-old Russian woman who died later at Bangkok Dibuk Hospital.
Police were investigating the crash scene using surveillance camera footage to determine the exact sequence of events. The Russian embassy was notified.
On Thursday, a 29-year-old Singaporean man was killed and a 29-year-old woman compatriot was injured when he lost control of his motorbike and hit a freight truck in Phuket’s, Kathu district.
The landslide-damaged Patong hill route from Patong beach to Kathu district has reopened to small cars for one-way traffic.
After engineers certified its safety, provincial governor Narong Woonciew ordered the reopening of the restricted part of Road 4029 from Patong to Kathu district to small four-wheel vehicles, including vans, on Friday.
According to him, the opposite direction, from Kathu to Patong, is still restricted to all traffic save motorcyclists.
Road 4029 connects Phuket town to the province’s most well-known beach region via Kathu. It generally serves 80,000 vehicles each day, with the number increasing to 100,000 during peak tourist season.
The province blocked the route on October 16 after a landslide damaged the hill segment and compromised its base.
It was later reopened to pedestrians, followed by motorcycles.
Motorists arriving in Patong via the rebuilt one-way portion from Kathu have two options for returning.
