Phayao, Thailand – A family of four died after their car plunged into a roadside canal on an unlit rural road on the evening of 25 October. Rescue teams reached the scene, but all occupants were found dead.
The crash and the emergency response
Local emergency services received a distress call at 18:57 on 25 October and dispatched officers from Dok Kham Tai police station together with the Khunlan rescue unit and the Sang Thong Virtue Rescue Association. Neighbours had already tried to reach the trapped occupants when rescuers arrived near Village 6 in the Dong Suwan subdistrict. The black Nissan Almera was submerged and filled with water, lying about two metres deep and roughly ten metres from the roadway, which made extrication difficult. Initial recovery efforts could not save the passengers.
Victims identified
Authorities later identified the four victims as Siamphon, 29, from Village 6 in the San Khong subdistrict; Sitthichai, 32, and Sukanya, 27, both from Village 3 in the Pa Sang subdistrict; and a three-year-old boy from Village 1 in the Dong Suwan subdistrict. Doctors from Dok Kham Tai Hospital carried out preliminary examinations at the scene before the bodies were taken to the hospital for a formal post-mortem. Relatives of the deceased were notified and are now caring for final arrangements.
Road conditions under scrutiny
Early enquiries by police pointed to the hazardous layout of the road as a likely factor in the crash. The stretch where the vehicle left the road is narrow and winding, with no street lighting and a canal running immediately alongside it. “The road is particularly challenging at night,” a local resident said, adding that the absence of streetlights together with the canal made the route extremely dangerous.
A similar fatal incident and continuing investigations
Officials noted the Phayao crash echoed a recent case on 15 October in Pathum Thani, where a Tesla Model 3 plunged into a canal and the 55-year-old driver died despite rescue efforts that included breaking the sunroof. Police in Phayao have opened a formal investigation to establish the precise sequence of events that led to last week’s tragedy. They said enquiries are ongoing as the community and authorities consider measures to reduce the risks on unlit rural roads.