A pickup loaded with Burmese migrants crashed on the highway near Cha-am in Phetchaburi Province in western Thailand, killing nine and injuring seven, according to Thai Channel Seven news on Sunday. The death toll rose to 13 on Sunday evening, after four of the injured died in Cha-am hospital.

The Isuzu pickup was carrying 16 Burmese migrants from Ranong in the south to the coastal port of Mahachai in central Thailand when it tried to evade inspection by Thai police who gave chase, according to Thet Khaing, spokesperson for the Migrant Workers Affairs Department of the Thailand-based National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma.

“The pickup skidded off the road in heavy rain and overturned, killing nine of its occupants instantly,” said Thet Khaing.

Jackie Pollock, the director of the Thailand-based MAP (Migrant Assistance Programme) Foundation, said, “Of the seven injured migrants, four died at the hospital’s intensive care unit yesterday and three remain in intensive care.”

Police and local NGOs are investigating the case, but no further details have been announced.

Death among Burmese migrants smuggled into Thailand by boat and car occurs frequently.

In January, nine Burmese migrants were found shot dead in Phop Phra district in Tak Province. A Thai police officer involved in the killings later committed suicide, according to a Provincial Police Bureau chief in Thailand.

On Feb. 25, three Burmese migrant children died and five were injured when a car loaded with 13 undocumented Burmese migrant workers was shot at by Thai security police in Ranong after the driver failed to stop at a checkpoint.

By KYAW THEIN KHA Monday, May 24, 2010