Desperate for a better future, 120 Burmese illegal workers crammed into a sealed container and headed for Phuket and jobs.

However, late on Wednesday only 66 emerged alive, many of them close to death.

The remainder had died of heat and suffocation, 37 of whom were women and girls. Their driver, scared of being arrested, had refused to turn on the air-conditioning.

The survivors say the air-coniditioning was shut off an hour into their journey from Ranong.

Little did they know that their sweltering transport would soon become a coffin for many.

The airtight refrigerated container measures just six by two metres.

With more than 120 inside, it's standing room only.

"We called the driver on his mobile. We couldn't breathe. He told us to shut up and stop causing problems," says survivor Theeda Tui.

The 21-year-old woman says the passengers were terrified and started to scream and batter on the padlocked door.

"The last thing I remember is suffocating," says Theeda, an ethnic Mon.

"When I woke up I was in hospital."

Win says they continued pounding and screaming for an hour before the driver stopped and unlocked the container.

He fled when he saw the bodies piled inside.

Barely conscious survivors flagged down a passer-by who alerted Suk Samrarn police. Lieutenant Supachai Srisom-poch says they responded to the "suspicious" vehicle about 10.30pm, finding the dead scattered about.

"Others were clearly close to death."

Recovering for deportation

Twenty-one of the survivors were rushed to hospital, and 10 are still being treated.

"They are out of danger but they'll suffer post-traumatic stress," Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap says.

Suk Samraran superintendent Colonel Kraithong Janthong says victims paid as much as Bt10,000 to a smuggling ring.

They were headed to jobs in Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi in construction or sweatshops for measly salaries.

Getting cookedThe dead await to be collected by relatives. The survivors will be deported.

Lorry owner Damrong Pussadee, a used-car salesman from Ranong, identified the driver as Suchon Boongplong. He denies any knowledge of the vehicle being used for human trafficking.

However, a senior policeman says Damrong is a middleman and received Bt5,000 a head. The manhunt for Suchon intensified today.

A million registered Burmese work in Thailand and another million illegally. They are unprotected by the law and ruthlessly exploited. --DAILY XPRESS, AGENCIES