Engine Failure Fills Phuket Road With White Smoke
A pickup truck's engine failure released thick white smoke across the road up Kata Hill in Phuket on August 3, forcing drivers to slow down and reducing visibility until the vehicle was towed away.
PHUKET — On August 3, 2026, a pickup truck released thick white smoke that covered a road leading up Kata Hill in Phuket, alarming drivers and sparking online debate about what caused the incident.
Dashcam footage posted on a local Facebook page showed a large plume of white smoke billowing continuously from a vehicle on the road up Kata Hill in Karon subdistrict, Muang district, Phuket.
The incident alarmed motorists traveling behind the truck, as the thick smoke spread across the road and reduced visibility. Drivers were forced to slow down and drive with extra caution to avoid accidents.
The Facebook post accompanying the footage asked: "A vehicle is spewing smoke all over the road on the way up Kata Hill. What caused this? Could the engine have overheated?"
Pol. Col. Pathapee Srichai, commander of Karon Police Station, later confirmed that the vehicle was a closed-body pickup truck. Engine damage caused the large amount of white smoke to pour from the vehicle, he said.
The vehicle owner then called a recovery truck to remove the pickup and take it to a repair shop. Traffic in the area returned to normal afterward.
Police advised motorists to perform regular maintenance checks on their vehicles, especially the engine, before driving. Such checks can prevent breakdowns that endanger drivers and others on the road and help reduce accident risk, police said.
