A motorcycle rider suffered severe injuries from plunging into an uncovered manhole in Thailand.

Saharat Rodkesa, 24, ploughed through traffic cones and crashed into the 15ft-deep open hole in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok at 4 am on December 3.

Rescue teams used a crane to winch Saharat from the sewage back onto the road. He was taken in an ambulance to a hospital and had to undergo skull surgery for his injuries.

A construction team at the site said that the manhole had been opened shortly before the accident, with traffic cones and signs placed to divert drivers away from the area. However, Saharat had broken through the barrier and fell into the drain.

A traffic enforcer who witnessed the accident said: 'The victim was driving slowly, but he still broke through the traffic cones and hit the concrete slab on the manhole.'

Saharat's relatives have visited him in the ICU department of the local hospital. They said the construction company had filed a report against Saharat for allegedly damaging the property and reckless driving.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.