More than 20 Myanmar illegal migrant workers and a Thai soldier were injured after a chase-and-run ended with two vehicles plunging into a stream in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province late Thursday night, according to Thai media. Among the illegal migrants injured is a two-year-old child.
A combined team of rescuers in 30 vehicles rushed to the scene and found the military Humvee truck falling on the pickup truck in the 3-metre deep stream with the illegal migrants sitting on the road with injuries, awaiting for authorities to take them to hospitals, according to the Pattaya Mail. The truck driver was seriously injured. Nobody was killed in the incident.
The accident happened after the truck driver was signaled to stop at a checkpoint by soldiers, but he smashed through the checkpoint to escape. A chase ensued. According to police, the driver had been arrested several times for the same charge.
The incident was a reminder of some of the problems facing Myanmar citizens who come to Thailand to work, many of them working illegally or with the correct papers. The issue was one of the subjects discussed by Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on her visit to Thailand. She received a rapturous welcome from Myanmar workers on the first day of her visit.