A six-wheel lorry taking workers to an industrial estate ploughed into a herd of buffalo on a road in Si Mahaphot district on Sunday morning, killing five of them, police said.
The accident occurred at about 5.40am on a rural road near Moo 6 village in tambon Nong Phrong, Pol Lt Pongpol Kanngan, a duty officer at Si Mahaphot police station said.
Police went to the spot to investigate.
They found five buffaloes, all female and one of them only two months old, lying dead at different spots – some on the road and others on the roadside.
The front section of the lorry was badly damaged.
Thiti Sriprasert, 53, the lorry driver, told the police he was driving to pick up workers from villages to work at the 304 Industrial Park in Si Mahaphot district.
After leaving Nong Chong Maew village, he was overtaking several vehicles when he suddenly saw a herd of about 20 buffaloes in front of him on the road. It was still dark and the road was without lighting, causing poor visibility, he said.
He applied the brakes but was unable to stop the lorry before ploughing into the herd of buffalo. After stopping the lorry, he found five had been struck and killed.
Police were looking for the owner of the buffalo as part of an investigation to establish the cause of the accident
