Khok Kloi Police were notified by officers at Tha Chat Chai Police Station in Phuket at 3am that a pickup had struck a bridge guardrail before falling into the water below.
Rescue teams from the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation, including divers and volunteers, were immediately dispatched to the scene.
Officers arrived to find damage to the concrete guardrail and broken vehicle parts scattered across the area where the pickup plunged into the channel below ‒ a small recess beside one of the main viewing towers.
The pickup had already disappeared beneath the surface.
Rescue divers began coordinating a search for both the submerged vehicle and its missing driver, believed to be a young man. Strong currents and low visibility in the early hours hampered initial efforts.
A witness, 30-year-old fisherman Nattawut Wongnui, told police he had been casting a net from the steps near the edge of the bridge moments before the incident occurred.
“A black four-door Vigo drove onto the bridge. Then it suddenly hit the guardrail and went straight into the water,” he said. “I saw something floating for a moment and then it was gone. I was still shocked.”
Tha Chatchai and Khok Kloi Police and rescue teams are continuing the search today to locate the driver and determine the cause of the crash.
Just after 8am rescue workers confirmed they had located the pickup on the bottom of the Chong Pak Phra channel, and were working to recover the body from inside.