PHUKET: Four Indian tourists were taken to a Phuket hospital after a tour bus carrying 37 passengers crashed backwards down Patong Hill today.
The bus, laden with Indian tourists, was negotiating the hill from Patong, the holiday hub on Phuket's west coast, when a taxi cut in front of the bus, the driver told police.
''Having to brake to avoid the taxi, the bus driver then found his vehicle unable to handle the incline,'' one officer told Phuketwan today.
''The bus rolled back, out of control, and crashed through a metal barrier on the other side of the road.''
Four passengers were taken to Patong Hospital. A guide was travelling with the party, as well as the driver.
Patong Hill is notorious for bus and truck crashes. Many of the buses used to carry tourists on Phuket are old and capable of carrying passengers on flat routes, but not on the hills of Phuket.
Most of the recent crashes involving buses on Phuket have been carrying Chinese tourists.
The bus, laden with Indian tourists, was negotiating the hill from Patong, the holiday hub on Phuket's west coast, when a taxi cut in front of the bus, the driver told police.
''Having to brake to avoid the taxi, the bus driver then found his vehicle unable to handle the incline,'' one officer told Phuketwan today.
''The bus rolled back, out of control, and crashed through a metal barrier on the other side of the road.''
Four passengers were taken to Patong Hospital. A guide was travelling with the party, as well as the driver.
Patong Hill is notorious for bus and truck crashes. Many of the buses used to carry tourists on Phuket are old and capable of carrying passengers on flat routes, but not on the hills of Phuket.
Most of the recent crashes involving buses on Phuket have been carrying Chinese tourists.
One asks, why didn't the brakes hold the weight of the bus, and its load? If they cannot perform this very important function, then WHY are they on the road?
Posted by Laurie Howells on August 15, 2015 12:54