Nine van passengers sent to hospital after air intake blocked

The van driver and one passenger who had only been on board for 30 minutes were able to alert investigators to the problem after nine people, including a three-year-old boy, developed fatigue, with some losing consciousness.

The incident took place at a filling station in Buriram’s Nang Rong district. Officers from Nangrong Provincial Police Station and rescuers from Siam Ruam Jai Salvation responded.

The van owner said he was taking passengers from Surin’s Prasat district to Bangkok. He picked up another passenger at Buriram’s Prakhon Chai district during the journey to Nang Rong district.

“Passengers claimed that they developed headaches and difficulty breathing, so I decided to stop at the filling station,” he said.

He suspected the cause of the incident was a modification to the van, which had just been repainted, resulting in a blockage to the air intake. He vowed to remodify his van to prevent a repeat of the incident.

One passenger said he got on the van in Prakhon Chai district, about 30 kilometres from the filling station. He said he was alarmed after other passengers developed symptoms of suffocation.

He said he did not develop such symptoms because he had just got on the van and wore a surgical mask all the time.

Worabodin Rungrojchaikul, head of Siam Ruam Jai Salvation rescue team, said the passengers were tired and some lost consciousness, so the team provided first aid before sending them to hospital.

Meanwhile, a medical staffer said that if the van had continued travelling for another 20 kilometres, the nine victims could have died.