TWO Canadian citizens, a husband and wife, died when a small local bus ran off a road on Phuket while travelling from the airport to a new west coast resort early today.
The vehicle struck a pole. A third person, believed to be an Australian, remains in a critical condition in intensive care in a Phuket hospital tonight. Two Canadians are also believed to have been injured.
The five were all understood to be connected with the IndoChine Resort, which opened in June 2010 at Kalim, a small beach north of Patong.
The group of four men and a woman was being driven from the airport to the resort, on Phuket's west coast, when the vehicle, a pickup fitted as a people-carrier, ran off the road between Bang Tao and Surin about 1am.
Australian brother and sister Michael and Sue Ma developed the IndoChine brand first in Singapore and have since spread the well-regarded label to many parts of the world. The Phuket project is their biggest investment.
The five passengers in the vehicle were all believed to be relatives or investors. The Australian branch of the Ma family migrated from Laos to Sydney a generation ago.
Superintendent Colonel Witoon Kongsudjai, of Cherng Talay Police Station, visited survivors in Vachira Hospital in Phuket City, the island's biggest public hospital, earlier today.
He told Phuketwan that the five people were being driven from the airport by an IndoChine driver, a 65-year-old Thai employee. The man remains in hospital.
One theory being examined by police is that the resort bus ran off the road while trying to overtake another vehicle, Colonel Witoon said.
Colonel Witoon added that one survivor, an 80-year-old man, had since been discharged. The Canadian and Australian embassies had been notified, he said.
The bodies of the couple are at Vachira Hospital.
It is the second double-fatality involving couples heading to or from the Phuket airport in the space of four months. In September, a husband and wife on the way to the airport to pick up their daughter died when their vehicle hit a pole.
The IndoChine, although opened just six months ago, has quickly established a reputation for nightlife and networking. Before the Ma family invested, the property was better known as Villa Santi.
The four-storey ''flying saucer'' dining and entertainment structure at the entrance to the resort is a local landmark.
Bus Safety Raised After Phuket Crash Kills TwoThe vehicle struck a pole. A third person, believed to be an Australian, remains in a critical condition in intensive care in a Phuket hospital tonight. Two Canadians are also believed to have been injured.
The five were all understood to be connected with the IndoChine Resort, which opened in June 2010 at Kalim, a small beach north of Patong.
The group of four men and a woman was being driven from the airport to the resort, on Phuket's west coast, when the vehicle, a pickup fitted as a people-carrier, ran off the road between Bang Tao and Surin about 1am.
Australian brother and sister Michael and Sue Ma developed the IndoChine brand first in Singapore and have since spread the well-regarded label to many parts of the world. The Phuket project is their biggest investment.
The five passengers in the vehicle were all believed to be relatives or investors. The Australian branch of the Ma family migrated from Laos to Sydney a generation ago.
Superintendent Colonel Witoon Kongsudjai, of Cherng Talay Police Station, visited survivors in Vachira Hospital in Phuket City, the island's biggest public hospital, earlier today.
He told Phuketwan that the five people were being driven from the airport by an IndoChine driver, a 65-year-old Thai employee. The man remains in hospital.
One theory being examined by police is that the resort bus ran off the road while trying to overtake another vehicle, Colonel Witoon said.
Colonel Witoon added that one survivor, an 80-year-old man, had since been discharged. The Canadian and Australian embassies had been notified, he said.
The bodies of the couple are at Vachira Hospital.
It is the second double-fatality involving couples heading to or from the Phuket airport in the space of four months. In September, a husband and wife on the way to the airport to pick up their daughter died when their vehicle hit a pole.
The IndoChine, although opened just six months ago, has quickly established a reputation for nightlife and networking. Before the Ma family invested, the property was better known as Villa Santi.
The four-storey ''flying saucer'' dining and entertainment structure at the entrance to the resort is a local landmark.
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Most heartfelt and sincerest condolences to the Ma family with prayers and wishes for the survivors of this terrible accident.
Posted by Christy Sweet on January 1, 2011 21:59