What began as a straightforward rescue turned into a chilling discovery in Phitsanulok on Wednesday, August 6. Around 3pm, a truck loaded with eucalyptus logs lost control on a bend along the Pong Kae–Chat Trakan Road and plunged roughly 50 metres into a ravine in Chat Trakan district. As rescuers battled steep terrain and tangled brush to reach the injured driver, they stumbled upon something no one expected: the wreckage of a second car, long hidden beneath vines, with a human skeleton inside.
A rescue that became a recovery
Teams from the Phitsanulok Foundation rushed to the scene after the eucalyptus-laden truck left the road at the notorious curve. The driver, who survived the plunge, was the immediate priority. While securing the crash site and preparing to recover the truck, rescuers noticed a glint of metal and the unmistakable silhouette of an overturned hatchback about 20 metres away from the fresh wreck.
Nature had done its best to reclaim the vehicle. The MG hatchback was crumpled, scorched in places, and cloaked in creepers as if the ravine itself had tried to keep its secret. When rescuers peered inside the cabin, they found skeletal remains. Photos of the scene, later shared via Facebook by สมาคมตอบโต้ภัยพิบัติ จังหวัดพิษณุโลก, capture the eerie juxtaposition: a brand-new crash mere steps from an older tragedy, finally unearthed.
Clues in the ravine
Once the injured truck driver was stabilized and the log-laden vehicle secured, the team turned to the hidden hatchback. The wreck was carefully retrieved and transferred to officers from Chat Trakan Police Station. Initial assessments suggest the MG had careened off the same treacherous bend, fallen into the ravine, and caught fire—likely killing whoever was inside. Judging by the extensive damage and overgrowth, police believe the accident happened more than a year ago.
Investigators began the painstaking process of checking the vehicle identification number (VIN) to trace the owner and confirm the identity of the skeletal remains. Whether this was a tragic accident or something darker remains under investigation. What locals do agree on is the danger posed by that curve; police noted the spot has seen more than its share of crashes.
A name emerges: the MG’s trail leads to Bangkok
Not long after, MGR Online reported a significant break. Records showed the MG hatchback registered to 38-year-old Bangkok resident Niroj Champamoon. Far from a joyrider, Niroj runs a car rental service. He told police he had lent the black MG to a woman named Ratchanok Pongdee, who was scheduled to return it at 10am on June 29, 2023. She never did.
According to Niroj, the car’s GPS tracker last pinged near the very location where the wreck was found—then went silent. He filed a complaint with Saimai Police Station in Bangkok in 2023, but the case went cold without updates. With the vehicle now recovered in Chat Trakan, he plans to travel to Phitsanulok to see the wreckage himself and learn what became of both his car and the renter. Images of Ratchanok later circulated via Ejan as the story gained national attention.
Key facts at a glance
- Date and time: Wednesday, August 6, around 3pm
- Location: Ravine off the Pong Kae–Chat Trakan Road, Chat Trakan district, Phitsanulok
- Initial incident: A truck carrying eucalyptus logs plunges ~50 metres into a ravine
- Secondary discovery: An overturned MG hatchback, ~20 metres from the new crash site
- Condition of car: Destroyed, overgrown, and believed to have burned
- Remains: Human skeleton found inside the MG’s cabin
- Owner on record: 38-year-old Bangkok resident, Niroj Champamoon
- Renter: Ratchanok Pongdee, due to return the car on June 29, 2023
- Investigation: VIN tracing and identity confirmation underway; accident vs. foul play under review
A dangerous bend with a deadly reputation
Anyone who has driven the Pong Kae–Chat Trakan Road knows its rhythm—sweeping curves, steep drops, and sudden bends that demand respect. The bend where both vehicles left the road has a reputation for catching drivers off-guard, especially in wet weather or when carrying heavy loads like eucalyptus logs. Local rescuers from the Phitsanulok Foundation are no strangers to late-night calls at this spot, but even they were stunned to find an older wreck hidden within arm’s reach of a fresh crash.
While the truck driver’s rescue provided relief, the discovery of the MG hatchback served as a sobering reminder of how quickly a routine drive can turn catastrophic. For the family waiting for answers since 2023, this ravine may hold the truth they’ve been seeking.
What happens next
Officers from Chat Trakan Police Station are moving quickly to match the hatchback’s VIN to official records and to identify the skeletal remains, with forensic teams likely to assist. As investigators revisit the 2023 complaint filed at Saimai Police Station, multiple agencies may coordinate to piece together the vehicle’s final journey. Whether the MG’s plunge was a tragic accident or involved foul play remains an open question—one the authorities say they intend to answer.
For now, the ravine has given up one of its secrets. And for drivers navigating northern Thailand’s mountain routes, the lesson is clear: slow down, respect the bends, and treat the road like the unpredictable force it is. In Chat Trakan, a single curve has now tied together two crashes, two timelines, and one haunting mystery that may finally be on the verge of resolution.
Photos: Facebook/ สมาคมตอบโต้ภัยพิบัติ จังหวัดพิษณุโลก; Ejan
That curve sounds cursed, honestly. To have a skeleton in an MG hidden just 20 meters away is nightmare fuel. If GPS pinged there in 2023, how did nobody look down that ravine sooner?
Because that drop is steep and overgrown, dude. Volunteer rescuers aren’t drones.
Fair, but the rental report was from last year. Someone should’ve organized a proper grid search along that route.
Grid searches cost time and money, and jurisdiction between Bangkok and Phitsanulok muddies it. Still, a last GPS ping should have triggered a roadside sweep. This is exactly why missing-vehicle protocols need teeth.
Then make it somebody’s job. If we can coordinate festivals, we can coordinate searches.
Or maybe nobody wanted to deal with paperwork.
Paperwork or not, families wait while the forest eats evidence. Install guardrails and cameras, then argue about budgets later.
Police need to rule out foul play without turning this into trial by Facebook. The car burned after a 50m fall; that alone can explain a lot. Until forensics confirm whether the remains are Ratchanok, everyone should chill with the accusations.
Agree on not doxxing, but the system did fail. The car had a tracker and a cold case report. Two agencies passing the buck is not okay.
On that we agree. The right reform is an interprovincial alert when a GPS ping goes dead near a hazard zone. Think Amber Alert but for missing vehicles with occupants.
Alerts are useless if the road is a deathtrap. Fix the bend first.
We can do both. Engineering and accountability aren’t mutually exclusive.
This doesn’t look like a simple accident to me. Why would a renter vanish and the car conveniently burn? Smells like someone wanted evidence gone.
Cars catch fire more often than you think after high-energy impacts. Fuel, hot exhaust, dry brush, and no one to call it in equals a burn. Speculation without facts wastes time.
Speculation also solves cases when officials sleep. I hope the autopsy looks for fractures vs. fire artifacts.
Forensics will, and they’ll also check phone records. Chill.
I drive Pong Kae–Chat Trakan every rainy season. The signage before that bend is tiny and half-hidden by leaves. Tourists and truckers don’t stand a chance at night.
Then locals should trim it instead of waiting for the province. Community can save lives.
You can’t volunteer your way to proper road design. We’ve complained for years and get a cone and a prayer.
Temporary speed bumps before the bend would force braking. Somebody just needs to approve it.
This is textbook infrastructure failure. The curve needs guardrails with proper containment level, rumble strips 200m out, chevrons, and high-friction surfacing. It’s cheaper than a single rescue operation plus a year of investigation. Thailand’s Road Safety Audit guidelines already say this.
Cheaper on paper, sure, until corruption inflates the contract. We’ll get plastic posts that snap in a week. Accountability first, asphalt later.
Transparent bidding and independent QA solve that. Blaming corruption to do nothing is a cop-out. People are dying in the meantime.
Two crashes, one curve, and a skeleton in the vines. Feels like Final Destination but with eucalyptus.
Or just physics and bad maintenance. The universe isn’t out to get you.
Maybe not, but that bend sure is. Slow down, folks.
Everyone keeps blaming the road, but overloaded log trucks chew up the surface and lose brakes on descents. Enforcement is a joke. Weigh stations exist to be bribed.
As a driver, I’ll tell you the climbs and drops there will cook your brakes even if you’re legal. You need engine braking and proper maintenance. But yeah, overweight rigs make it worse for all of us.
Respect for owning it. Ticket the bad actors and fix the grade.
From the photos, the curve likely has inadequate superelevation and poor sight distance due to vegetation encroachment. Add a descending approach, wet season, and a top-heavy truck and you get understeer into the ravine. A TL-4 barrier would have redirected a car but maybe not a fully loaded log truck. The hidden MG shows failure of post-crash detection; eCall or roadside thermal cameras could change that. This is solvable engineering.
Engineers always say it’s solvable, then budgets say otherwise. Politicians like ribbon cuttings, not guardrails.
Then quantify the savings: benefit-cost ratios for high-friction treatment are massive because crashes drop fast. Show them numbers and liability risk. Suddenly the ribbon looks attractive.
Co-sign. Also add solar flashing beacons before the curve. Cheap, visible, and hard to ignore.
Please remember there’s a family waiting to know if those bones are Ratchanok. Stop turning her into a plot twist. Compassion first, theories second.
Facts matter too. If there was foul play, the sooner people ask hard questions, the better.
Ask them without naming and shaming. The internet never forgets.
If a rental car’s GPS died right at that bend, why didn’t the company organize a search with local authorities last year? That’s basic duty of care. Tech without procedures is useless.
A small rental outfit isn’t a police force. They filed the report; that’s the channel. Blame the state, not a guy running a few cars.
Filing a report is step one, not the finish line. A phone tree with nearby rescue groups and a small reward for tips would have cost less than a month of lost revenue. Private initiative saves lives.
Also, cheap trackers go to sleep when signal is weak or the battery is cut. A proper hardwired unit with crash alerts and geofencing would have flagged this instantly. Penny wise, pound foolish.
I nearly slid there in 2022 in a Honda City during a storm. No lights, no rumble, and the curve tightens more than you expect. I’m not surprised a car could disappear below the brush.
Exactly. If locals know, why hasn’t the district chief fixed it?
Because warnings don’t trend until a tragedy does. Maybe this finally moves the needle.
Before everyone blames MG or any brand, note that most small hatchbacks will crumple and can burn after a 50m tumble. That’s not evidence of a defect by itself. The important part is crash survivability and rapid rescue, both of which failed here. Roads should forgive mistakes.
Preach. Design for error because humans are predictably imperfect.
Exactly. Safe systems, not perfect drivers.