Driver of Thai migrant lorry sought

A Thai court has issued an arrest warrant for the driver of a container truck in which 54 Myanmar migrant workers suffocated as they were smuggled into Thailand, officials said today.

The owner of the 20-ft truck, in which 120 migrants were crammed upright in the locked container and began passing out when the air conditioning failed, was arrested after he turned himself in for questioning yesterday.

The driver, identified by police as Suchon Boonplong, was believed to be hiding on the southern tourist island of Phuket after he abandoned the truck late on Wednesday.

"Police from various units are looking for Suchon and other people involved in the trafficking ring," Police Major General Apirak Hongthong told reporters.

Both men will be charged with conspiracy to hide, help or smuggle illegal aliens into Thailand, and for careless actions causing death. If convicted, they face a maximum 10 years in jail, police said.

Survivors said they pounded on the sides of the truck and tried to call the driver on his mobile phone after the air conditioning system failed.

"We contacted the driver using a mobile phone, but he told us in Burmese to keep quiet and make no trouble," Tida Toy (21) told the Bangkok Post newspaper.

"He switched off the phone and drove on," she said.

Their horrific deaths have sparked outrage from rights groups and renewed calls for tough action against human trafficking networks in the region.

© 2008 ireland.com