Update: A 12-wheel truck lost control and collided with the bridge railing over Nong Chao Creek in Nakhon Phanom, sinking into the water. The bodies of a husband and wife were found tightly embracing. Relatives revealed premonitions and final wishes about the body’s location and requested not to keep it for long.
At 10:00 on 6 Sep 2026 at Nakhon Phanom Hospital, Ms. Nisa Simma, 35, daughter of Mr. Patcharakorn Suksom (also known as Ek) and Ms. Jeeraporn Suksom (also known as Lhod), both 56, arranged to receive their bodies to conduct funeral rites at Aranyikawat Temple in Nakhon Phanom Municipality, according to the deceased Mrs. Lhod’s wishes, following the accident where their 12-wheel truck crashed into the bridge over the creek at about 20:30 on 5 Sep 2026.
Ms. Nisa said she learned of the incident around 8 p.m. and hurried to the scene, seeing the truck’s cabin submerged in water. She believed her parents were inside since they always traveled together. Earlier that day, around 10 a.m., her mother called to say she was about to cross the Third Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (Nakhon Phanom–Kham Muan) and they lost contact afterward. Later, someone informed her that her father’s truck had the accident. There had been no prior warning signs.
Mr. Prakat Saengsai, 70, Ms. Nisa’s grandfather, said the deceased couple had two children and were hardworking. They operated the truck transporting goods nationwide, including deliveries to the Vietnam border. Mrs. Lhod often spoke to friends or relatives as if giving final instructions, saying that if anything happened, her body should be taken to Aranyikawat Temple in Nakhon Phanom Municipality and should not be kept long—only one night of chanting before cremation. After the unexpected event, relatives followed her wishes precisely, chanting only one night before cremation the next day.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sangka Saengsai, 65, wife of Mr. Prakat, said on the day of the accident her daughter-in-law called crying to say her father had driven off the bridge. She rushed to the scene, saw the truck, and resigned herself to the outcome, but inwardly prayed for a miracle. She and her daughter-in-law stayed until the authorities lifted the truck from the water and found the two bodies embracing inside the cabin. The couple were born in the same year, with birthdays only a month apart.
Relatives believe the accident may have resulted from Mr. Ek’s fatigue while driving, possibly falling asleep at the wheel, causing the truck to lose control, crash into the head of the bridge over Nong Sao Creek, skid across the median, hit the railing on the inbound side to Nakhon Phanom city, and plunge about 7 meters from the bridge into water about 2 meters deep. This led to the deaths of both individuals.
The incident occurred on 5 Sep 2026 at approximately 20:40. Police Lieutenant Colonel Natthaphon Phosan, investigator at Mueang Nakhon Phanom Police Station, was notified of a 12-wheel truck crashing into the bridge railing and falling into Nong Chao Creek, with occupants trapped inside. The accident happened at the bridge over Nong Chao Creek, Tha Kho Subdistrict, Mueang Nakhon Phanom District, on Highway 212 (Chayangkun Road). Initial inquiries identified the driver as Mr. Patcharakorn Suksom (also known as Ek), 56, with passenger Ms. Jeeraporn Suksom (also known as Lhod), 56, his wife, both presumed trapped inside the cabin.
Later, two cranes were deployed to recover the truck wreckage. At 02:35 on 6 Sep 2026, the vehicle was lifted from the creek after six hours of effort. Both bodies were found inside the cabin. Investigators and medical examiners preliminarily concluded the cause of death was asphyxiation.