Ten killed, 17 injured in Surat Thani bus crash

[buksida]

Ten persons were killed and 17 others were injured when an inter-provincial bus carrying Thais and foreign tourists skidded off the road and slammed into an electric power transmission pole at dawn on Tuesday in Surat Thani province.

The driver lost control of the first-class, air-conditioned Transport Co. Ltd vehicle, which slammed into an electric power transmission pole on Surat Thani-Nakhon Si Thammarat Road in Kanchanadit district.

Ten people including the driver and Amit Jain, an Indian, were killed in the crash. Five bodies were unidentified and were sent for autopsies at Surat Thani Hospital.

Another 17 Thai and foreigners were injured and are being treated in local hospitals.

The bus, which was carrying 24 passengers, the driver and two bus attendants, left Bangkok at 7.50pm on Monday en route to Pha-ngan Island in the southern province of Surat Thani.

According to the initial investigation, the front right tire burst, causing the driver to lose control. The bus was travelling at full speed when it the power pole.

Electric transmission wires were ripped apart and gas was leaking from the disabled bus. Local authorities cut the electricity, while a responding fire truck stood by at the crash site.

Source: The Nation

[Bernard]

My condolences to anyone who has lost a friend or loved one here.

We will never know the real cause of this crash and I do not pretend to be an expert on such matters nor do I wish to appear smart, but. As I travel regularly in SE Asia on all kinds of transport it worries me every time I get on any sort of road transport. So if the report is correct and the bus left Bangkok at 7.50pm with a driver and two bus attendants and crashed at Dawn. How long had he been driving ?

[Roel]

We will never know the real cause of this crash

According to the initial investigation, the front right tire burst, causing the driver to lose control.

[Bernard]

We will never know the real cause of this crash

According to the initial investigation, the front right tire burst, causing the driver to lose control.

Roel,

I said I didn't want to appear smart and that is still the case but I think given your post I have to respond. The report says that the bus hit the electrical system post at full speed. The driver is dead so cannot help us with determining what happened. Don't you think it is possible that the tyre burst AFTER hitting the post despite what the "initial report" may have said ? Who gave out the initial report? The Company that owns the bus I should think!

That's my final comment on a tragic accident.

[buksida]

Those injured are being treated at Surat Thani Hospital (Tel 66 77) 272 231 and (66 77) 284 23; and Kanjanadit Hospital (66 77) 244518-9

Six of the 10 passengers killed in the bus accident in Surat Thani province on Tuesday were foreigners, Surat Thani's bus operator chief Pornpimon Klinhom said. Names and their names and nationality are still unknown, she said.

She also revealed names of those who were injured and are currently being treated at Surat Thani Hospital, which can be contacted at (66 77) 272 231 and (66 77) 284 231; and Kanjanadit Hospital at (66 77) 244518-9.

1. Roverta Nortun, Briton

2. Jonathan Bennet, nationality unknown

3. Push Pinder Kuma, Indian

4. Pinry Jain, Indian

5. Aashima Jain, Indian

6. Jasmine Maglige, Luxembourger

7. Figue Magias Michael, Luxembourger

8. Kapl Gaya, Zimbabwean

9. Thitima Klomklieng, 27, Thai

10. Phirasak Yensiri, 26, Thai

11. Sodsai Kakarun, 21, Thai

12. Namphet Poonperm, 41, Thai

13. Komsan Nuntasahakitnukul, 36, Thai

14. Jiraporn Laokamkaew, 43, Thai

15. Prom Pijaranapong 64, Thai

16. Pitawun Suwanprasert, 35, Thai

She said the illfated bus has insurance with Dhipaya Insurance, which will take responsibility for compensation of the victims.

The interprovincial bus carrying Thais and foreign tourists skidded off the road and slammed into an electric power transmission pole at dawn on Tuesday in Surat Thani province, killing ten and injuring many others

The driver lost control of the bus, which slammed into the transmission pole on Surat ThaniNakhon Si Thammarat Road in Kanchanadit district. He was also killed.

[Nereus]

This one did not get much reporting a couple of days ago:
............................................................................................

7 killed, 8 injured in road accident

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... d-accident

Published: 1/07/2012 at 02:59 PM Online news: 13
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Seven people were killed and eight others injured when a van skidded off Highway 41 in Lang Suan district of Chumphon province and rammed into a tree on Sunday morning.

The van, driven by Muhamad Phetniam, 19, with 14 passengers, was heading from Bangkok to the South.

The passengers were returning home from a commencement ceremony at a university in Bangkok, in which one of them - Pathitta Sa-ngabankhok - was a degree recipient.

The seven killed included the driver, and Ms Pathitta. The wounded, including a boy and a girl, were admitted to Lang Suan and Chumphon Khet-udomsak hospitals in Chumphon.

[Takiap]

How long had he been driving ?

Bernard, in Thailand they don't have time restrictions for drivers. Instead, a bus driver simply drives from point A to point B, irrespective of how long that takes. This is why they have two attendants.....they're meant to make sure the driver doesn't fall asleep.


As for the cause..............I can well believe a burst tyre could have caused the driver to lose control. If a back tyre bursts it's usually no big deal, but a front one is a different matter altogether.

[bigideas]

About a week ago, after a visa run to Penang, I decided to risk my life getting a "1st class" bus back to Hua Hin (seemed a bit too long to have to wait around for another day to fly to Bangkok). Anyway, the bus left Hat Yai at 7pm with one driver and one attendant. The bus stopped at 9.30pm for 20 minutes and the driver got some dinner. At about 10pm the bus stopped at a Traffic Police sign and the attendant got out and signed a piece of paper which I guessed was to prove who the driver was. She then got back on and we drove off. Ten minutes later she turned off the lights and went to sleep on the back seats. I remember thinking that perhaps I made a mistake and that there was another driver with him. I kept my eyes open and couldn't sleep because I was shitting it!! I must have dozed off at about 2.30am. The bus didn't make any stops before that time so the driver could not have changed. I kept waking up at hourly intervals 3.30am, 4.30am. The driver may have stopped briefly somewhere within these times. However, we got to Hua Hin at about 5am and as I got off I noticed the driver was different. Perhaps he stopped and picked up another driver somewhere en route. That bus was due to go all the way to Bangkok. The driver drove like a madman the whole way... I don't think his right foot ever came up. He seemed to go faster in direct relationship to the dangerousness of the road! It was a nightmare... never again...! My only consolation was that the driver certainly looked the part - he was very well dress in a drivers suit and seemed very well mannered..!

[dtaai-maai]

The driver drove like a madman the whole way... I don't think his right foot ever came up. He seemed to go faster in direct relationship to the dangerousness of the road! It was a nightmare... never again...

I assume you don't drive a car then, or you'd have noticed this a long time ago!