Riders come home safely

Via The Star, print edition, page 6 column 5 or here



M-cyclist dies after ramming into truck

KANGAR: A superbiker died in a road mishap when his motorcycle rammed into a truck on the Thai island resort of Krabi around 4.30pm yesterday.



Francis Gilbert Reutens, 57, passed away at the island's hospital, said his younger brother Eric.



Reutens, from Klang, used to be an assistant director-general at the Department of Civil Aviation.



The pensioner was part of a Malaysian and Singaporean biking expedition which took part in the annual Phuket Bike Week.



Another superbiker, identified only as Dinesh, was also involved in the mishap and escaped with leg injuries.



Dinesh said they were on their way back to Malaysia and decided to stop in Krabi when the incident occurred.



A Malaysian consulate-general spokesman based in Songkhla, when contacted, said they had yet to be informed about the incident.

I tried calling Dinesh but his phone was out of coverage.



Condolences to the family of Francis Gilbert, and as for the rest, ride home safely.



UPDATE: The Spitfire Biker's forum thread regarding the accident at Krabi can be found here.



UPDATE (13:17): Dinesh SMS-ed me: I'm fine, man. Thanks. Just a twisted foot, that's all. I'll be back in a couple of days.