PHUKET: A 50-year-old woman was unable to get out of her pickup truck and drowned in it after the vehicle plunged into a tin mine lagoon in Kathu this morning (May 29).
Lt Col Kiattisak Saengmanee of Kathu Police was notified of the accident at 6:20 am opposite GSM Duty Free Shop on Phra Phuket Kaew Road.
Police, along with the Kusoldharm Foundation and Kathu Municipality Ambulance Service, arrived at the scene and found a damaged roadblock and markings on the ground leading to a nearby lake. The vehicle was not in sight.
Witnesses told police that a blue Ford Ranger pickup truck with Phuket plates was unable to navigate the road, causing the vehicle to go off the water and plunge into the lake. A woman was trapped inside and couldn’t get out, the witnesses added.
Rescue divers from the Kusoldharm Foundation examined the sunken vehicle and confirmed that the woman’s body was still inside. It took more than two hours to get the vehicle out of the lake and recover the body.
The victim was identified as Chanpen Sombat, 50, from Patong. The identity was confirmed by the woman’s son and daughter, who arrived at the scene while emergency workers retrieved the body.
After initial investigations, police believe the woman was driving from Phuket International Airport to her home in Patong and lost control of her car on the slippery road. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, although the investigation is not yet officially closed.
Ms Chanpen’s body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital so doctors could confirm the cause of death, which is believed to be drowning.
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