Three dead job-seekers from Myanmar were among 23 migrants found dumped in a rubber plantation in Kamphaeng Phet on Saturday after an accident involving the vehicle transporting them.
Police and local officials rushed to the plantation at Nong Nok Kratha village Moo 12 in tambon Na Bo Kham after being alerted by local residents late on Saturday morning.
When they arrived, they found a group of migrants aged between 21 and 40. Among them were three dead people — one man and two women — and four injured — two men and two women. None had entry documents, Thai media reported.
One of the migrants, identified only as Mr See, told police that the group, numbering 23, had paid between 7,000 and 23,000 baht each to job brokers who arranged a pickup truck to transport them from the Myanmar border into Thailand through Mae Sot district of Tak province.
While travelling downhill, the pickup overturned on Friday night, causing injuries and deaths, said Mr See, who was unable to tell where the accident happened.
Shortly afterward, he said, another pickup arrived at the scene to pick them up.
When the vehicle arrived at the rubber plantation, the driver stopped and told them to get out, claiming he would call an ambulance.
However, the ambulance never arrived. Local residents passing by the area saw the group and alerted police.
The bodies of the three accident victims were sent for autopsy and the other injured people were taken to a local hospital, said Pol Maj Gen Phiphat Chummaneekun, chief of Muang Kamphaeng Phet police.
The remaining 16 migrants were taken to Wat Nong Nok Kratha in tambon Na Bo Kham for Covid-19 tests.
Provincial police have contacted their colleagues in Tak to check whether there had been any road accidents in their area. They had already contacted stations in Kamphaeng Phet but were told there had been no accident reports.
