TWO people died when a small bus carrying tourists from Bangkok to Phuket ran off the road at 2am today.
A Hong Kong man aged 40-50 and a European man aged about 60 were killed when the small bus hit a tree, the director of Tachana Hospital, Jumpon Yokchoo, in Surathani province, told Phuketwan.
The vehicle was travelling from Bangkok to Phuket as a result of the halt to flights caused by the blockade of Bangkok's two main airports by anti-government protesters.
Five people were injured, including the male Thai driver, the wife of the Hong Kong man, a British woman aged 40, a Ukranian woman, and one other traveller whose nationality was not specified.
The Ukranian woman suffered a broken hip and broken ribs and was categorised as serious.
Ambulances transferred the injured and the dead today from Tachana Hospital to the larger Surathani Hospital.
The woman from Hong Kong sustained a blow to her mouth. Dr Jumpon said she was not seriously injured.
Dr Jumpon said the crash happened when the bus swerved to miss a truck. The bus crashed into a roadside tree.
The injured driver told Dr Jumpon that the truck moved out in front of the bus, causing his vehicle to swerve off the road.
Embassy officials had been in touch with the Hong Kong woman, Dr Jumpon said.
Many drivers of small buses, also known as mini-buses, have been cashing in on the bonanza triggered by the blockades of the Bangkok airports.
Some drivers that two Phuketwan reporters encountered while travelling by bus for two days from Phnom Penh in Cambodia to Phuket had been driving for extraordinarily long periods without rest breaks.
The driver of the small bus that brought the reporters from Bangkok to Phuket on Sunday, a 12-hour journey, was planning to drive back to Bangkok without sleep so he could work again today.
A Hong Kong man aged 40-50 and a European man aged about 60 were killed when the small bus hit a tree, the director of Tachana Hospital, Jumpon Yokchoo, in Surathani province, told Phuketwan.
The vehicle was travelling from Bangkok to Phuket as a result of the halt to flights caused by the blockade of Bangkok's two main airports by anti-government protesters.
Five people were injured, including the male Thai driver, the wife of the Hong Kong man, a British woman aged 40, a Ukranian woman, and one other traveller whose nationality was not specified.
The Ukranian woman suffered a broken hip and broken ribs and was categorised as serious.
Ambulances transferred the injured and the dead today from Tachana Hospital to the larger Surathani Hospital.
The woman from Hong Kong sustained a blow to her mouth. Dr Jumpon said she was not seriously injured.
Dr Jumpon said the crash happened when the bus swerved to miss a truck. The bus crashed into a roadside tree.
The injured driver told Dr Jumpon that the truck moved out in front of the bus, causing his vehicle to swerve off the road.
Embassy officials had been in touch with the Hong Kong woman, Dr Jumpon said.
Many drivers of small buses, also known as mini-buses, have been cashing in on the bonanza triggered by the blockades of the Bangkok airports.
Some drivers that two Phuketwan reporters encountered while travelling by bus for two days from Phnom Penh in Cambodia to Phuket had been driving for extraordinarily long periods without rest breaks.
The driver of the small bus that brought the reporters from Bangkok to Phuket on Sunday, a 12-hour journey, was planning to drive back to Bangkok without sleep so he could work again today.
Have these bus drivers ever heard the phrase Better late than never? They can cash in on the situation without wrapping their passengers around trees.
Posted by GlobalGypsy on December 1, 2008 19:13